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

Although everyone knew that Yuwen Zhi was an incompetent fool, no one expected that he would be so eager to start pointing fingers.

Luo Kai, with his quick temper, couldn't help but rebuke, "Lord Yuwen, how dare you be so insolent! General Zhang is now the commander-in-chief of the three armies. He has the authority to decide when to attack the city. How dare you interfere?"

"What's wrong with me giving orders?" Yuwen Zhi retorted arrogantly, "Until now, I was the commander-in-chief at the front, and you all had to listen to me! I told you to attack the city now, and you have to go now! Otherwise, you're treason!"

"Don't you dare spout such nonsense!" Luo Kai roared, drawing his sword in a flash of cold light. "While we were fighting a bloody battle, you were still crying in the pigsty. Do you think you're qualified to give orders here?"

"You dare insult me?" Yuwen Zhi, stung by the insult, jumped up. "Guards! Seize this insubordinate traitor!"

The guards outside the tent exchanged glances, none daring to move. They were all Zhang Xu's former subordinates, naturally obeying their commander-in-chief, and would never heed the clamor of this good-for-nothing young master.

Zhang Xu slammed his hand on the table and said in a deep voice, "Enough!"

He stood up, his gaze piercing as he stared at Yuwen Zhi: "Lord Yuwen, this is a military camp, not a place for you to run wild! I am the commander-in-chief appointed by the imperial court. When to attack the city and how to fight are all governed by regulations! If you dare to disrupt the morale of the army again, don't blame me for dealing with you according to military law!"

Having long held a high position, Zhang Xu's imposing presence made Yuwen Zhi instinctively shrink back.

But then he thought, with the Yuwen family backing him up, what was there to be afraid of?

"Court-martial?" Yuwen Zhi sneered. "You dare touch a single hair on my head! Zhang Xu, I advise you to be sensible and order the attack on the city right now, or I'll write a memorial impeaching you for delaying the battle!"

As he spoke, he actually pulled out paper and pen from his pocket and began to write in a crooked and messy manner, muttering to himself, "Just say that Zhang Xu was afraid of the enemy like a tiger, deliberately delaying the war, causing the court officials to be humiliated..."

"This is utter nonsense!" Zhang Xu's face turned ashen with anger. In all his years of fighting, he had never seen such an ignorant fool.

Yuwen Zhi was not only unhelpful, but also like a time bomb, ready to explode at any moment.

Just then, Qin An entered the tent and, seeing the situation, quickly stepped forward to smooth things over: "General, please calm down. Lord Yuwen was also wronged and lost his composure in his haste."

He turned to Yuwen Zhi, his tone softening: "My lord, attacking a city is no small matter. Xinyang City is well-defended. If our army attacks rashly, it will only increase casualties. It would be better to rest for a few days, find out the strength of the rebels, and then take the city in one fell swoop. At that time, I will be able to avenge you personally."

Yuwen Zhi threw down his pen and glared at Qin An: "Don't give me that! I think you're all in cahoots; none of you want to help me get revenge!"

"You won't even attack my city now, do you think I'm easy to bully?"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, and suddenly rushed in front of Qin An, reaching out to grab his collar, but Qin An dodged to the side.

"Lord Yuwen, please have some self-respect." Qin An's voice turned cold. "This humble general is merely stating the facts and has no intention of offending you."

"I don't care!" Seeing that he couldn't grab Qin An, Yuwen Zhi threw a tantrum, rolling on the ground and wailing, "You're all bullying me! I'm going to report you all! Waaaaah..."

The generals inside the tent watched this scene with a mixture of anger and helplessness. Cheng Zhiyuan shook his head: "This is no official appointed by the imperial court; he's clearly a baby who hasn't been weaned."

Zhang Xu closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and suppressed his anger: "Guards, take Lord Yuwen back to his tent and keep a close watch on him. Without my order, he is not to step out of the tent!"

"Yes!" Two guards stepped forward, grabbed the still crying Yuwen Zhi, and dragged him outside.

Yuwen Zhi struggled and roared, "Zhang Xu! You just wait! I won't let this go! You'll regret this! You'll definitely regret it!"

His voice faded into the distance, and the tent finally fell silent, but a sense of oppression lingered.

Luo Kai kicked over a stool next to him: "That good-for-nothing is a menace! I should never have saved him in the first place; I should have just let him die in Xinyang City!"

Cheng Zhiyuan was also worried: "After all, he is a member of the Yuwen family. If he were to impeach us in front of the Emperor, we would be in big trouble."

Zhang Xu walked to the map, pressed his finger heavily on the location of Xinyang City, and frowned: "How could I not know? But things have come to this, there's no point in saying more. The most urgent thing is to take Xinyang City as soon as possible. As long as we win the battle, even if he complains to the Emperor, we'll have something to say."

Despite saying this, Zhang Xu finally sighed and sat back down in his chair wearily: "Do you think we made a mistake by switching Yuwen Zhi back?"

Qin An was silent for a moment, then said, "General, bringing him back is for the sake of the bigger picture. The Yuwen family is powerful. If he dies at the hands of the rebels, our army will be implicated, and the war will be hampered. It would be a loss for us, but..."

He paused, his tone grave: "This Yuwen Zhi is narrow-minded and vindictive; keeping him in the camp is indeed a hidden danger."

"Yes, there are hidden dangers." Zhang Xu rubbed his temples. "We not only have to guard against the rebels, but also against our own people stabbing us in the back. This war is really frustrating."

Qin An remained silent.

Although I had guessed that bringing back Yuwen Zhi, that good-for-nothing, would be a big problem, I didn't expect him to be so incompetent.

The others also felt a little heavy-hearted; the atmosphere inside the tent was so oppressive it felt like it was about to drip water.

Cheng Zhiyuan stroked his beard and said in a deep voice, "General, in my humble opinion, Yuwen Zhi cannot be kept alive. I don't mean we should take his life, but we must send him back to the capital as soon as possible."

"As long as he's in the camp, we'll never have a moment's peace. If he really ruins our siege plan, then we'll be doomed."

Luo Kai nodded repeatedly: "General Cheng is right! This good-for-nothing knows nothing but shouting for war. If we listen to him, countless more of our brothers will die! We should get rid of him as soon as possible, out of sight, out of mind!"

Zhang Xu looked at Qin An: "What do you think?"

Qin An frowned: "Sending him away isn't difficult; the difficulty lies in making him leave willingly. As you all saw just now, he's single-mindedly focused on revenge, wishing he could raze Xinyang City to the ground right now. I'm afraid even eight horses couldn't pull him back."

"Then send him there by force!" Luo Kai said urgently. "Find a few guards to tie him up, stuff him into a prison cart, and send him back to the capital overnight! Do you think he can cause any trouble?"

"No," Zhang Xu shook his head. "He is, after all, a member of the Yuwen family. To openly resort to violence is no different from us directly slapping the Yuwen family in the face. The war is currently at a critical juncture, and we cannot afford to make such a powerful enemy."

Everyone was speechless for a moment, finding the matter troublesome. Keeping Yuwen Zhi in the camp was a problem, but forcibly sending him away risked backfiring; they were truly caught in a dilemma.

Cheng Zhiyuan sighed: "How about... we find an excuse? Let's say there's an urgent order from the capital summoning him back for a meeting?"

"What if he doesn't believe me?" Qin An countered. "That fool may seem stupid, but he's quite shrewd when it comes to revenge. He probably won't be easily fooled."

Zhang Xu rubbed his temples and said in a deep voice, "Let's try it first. Qin An, go there and tell him that you received a secret letter from the capital. His family is worried about his safety and wants him to return to the capital immediately. Try to be gentle in your tone and don't provoke him further."

"Yes." Qin An accepted the order, but he knew in his heart that it would most likely be a waste of effort.

Sure enough, as soon as Qin An finished speaking, Yuwen Zhi jumped up and started cursing at him.

"Who are you trying to fool? You just switched me back, how could my family possibly be calling me back now?"

"You must be scared and want to send me away so you can collude with the rebels! Let me tell you, Qin An, no way! I won't leave until I've raze Xinyang City to the ground!"

He tore the "secret letter" Qin An handed him to shreds, spitting all over Qin An's face: "Go back and tell Zhang Xu, either order the attack on the city right now, or wait for the court's interrogation letter! Don't think I don't know your little schemes. You think you can fool me? You're still too green!"

Qin An suppressed his anger and said patiently, "My lord, the situation in the capital is complicated. If you stay on the front line for too long, things may change."

"Once you return to the capital safely, we can then ask His Majesty to mobilize troops. At that time, how could Xinyang City not fall? Why are you in such a hurry?"

"No!" Yuwen Zhi retorted, "I want to watch those traitors die before my very eyes! Otherwise, I won't swallow this insult! If you don't obey me, I'll wail and make a scene in the camp every day, letting everyone know you're a bunch of cowardly cowards!"

This statement completely shut down any possibility of persuasion.

Seeing his tantrum, Qin An felt utterly powerless, turned around, and stormed off.

Back in the command tent, Qin An explained the situation, and everyone's faces turned grim.

Enraged, Luo Kai slammed his sword down on the table, sending splinters flying. "This bastard! He's like a rock in a latrine, stinking and hard! I think we should just..."

He made a throat-slitting gesture.

Zhang Xu interrupted sharply, "Nonsense! If we kill him, how can the Yuwen family let it go? We're already besieged on all sides; we can't afford to cause any more trouble!"

Silence fell again inside the tent, everyone holding back their anger.

Finally, Zhang Xu waved his hand and said, "Go back first, let me think about it some more."

The generals dispersed, their steps heavy.

Qin An returned to his tent, and as soon as he lifted the curtain to enter, a teacup hit him on the shoulder.

"Qin An! You bastard!" Shan Bing stood in the tent, her hair disheveled and her eyes red and swollen, clearly having just finished crying. "You sent my brother back? You actually kept me here! You're such a lecher!"

Qin An caught the falling teacup, his brows furrowing instantly.

The anger she suffered at Yuwen Zhi's place today surged up again after being provoked by Shan Bing.

He stepped forward and grabbed Shan Bing's wrist with such force that he almost crushed her bones.

"Shut up!" Qin An's voice was icy cold. "I'm telling you, don't mess with me again! Or you'll regret it!"

Dan Bing trembled at the ferocity in his eyes, but still stubbornly insisted, "Let me go! Qin An, you despicable scoundrel! You lied to my brother and tried to imprison me... Ah!"

Before she could finish speaking, Qin An suddenly pushed her down onto the couch.