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

Qin An was not surprised that Luo Kai could guess his plans.

After all, Yuwen Zhi had set a good example in Ligangzhai.

He nodded and admitted, "That's right. The Wang family is powerful, and we won't gain anything by fighting them head-on. With Wang Teng in our hands, at least we can make them hesitate and not dare to act rashly."

Luo Kai pondered for a moment and said, "Wang Chong, the leader of the Wang family, dotes on this youngest son the most. Perhaps we can really get them to make concessions. But..."

He looked at the prisoners shivering in the cold wind; many of them were ragged and emaciated.

"What should we do with these people? They're a burden if we keep them around, but it's a waste to kill them."

"Select some strong and able-bodied men to join the ranks, and dismiss the old, weak, sick, and disabled on the spot." Qin An made a decisive decision: "As they flee, they will surely spread the news of our great victory, which may cause some trouble for the Wang family and make them unsure of our strength."

The current state of the battlefield forced Qin An to consider the future.

Luo Kai nodded in approval and immediately ordered someone to carry it out.

When the soldiers heard that Qin An had won a great victory and captured the young master of the Wang family, their morale soared even higher. Even the wounded forgot their pain, stood up with their broken spears, and helped count the spoils of war.

The songs that had been playing around the campfire gradually rose up, dispelling the gloom of the past few days.

The team was fully assembled by the next morning.

Qin An dispersed the newly recruited prisoners into various teams, with only a dozen or so people in each team, who were guarded by veteran soldiers. He also had the cavalry allocate five hundred warhorses for the infantry to ride, and the originally exhausted troops suddenly showed some signs of elite strength.

He deliberately had Wang Teng brought to his horse and led it by a rope, like a beast of burden, towards the Wang family's defense line.

"Qin An! You'll die a horrible death! My father will skin you alive and tear your tendons out!" Wang Teng cursed all the way, his voice hoarse from shouting, spitting far and wide, but all he got in return was a cold look from Qin An.

Qin An reined in his horse, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, as if the noise around him was just the sound of the wind.

On the third day of their journey, the rebel army of the Wang family appeared ahead.

It was a camp built along the mountainside, with walls made of huge stones and rammed earth, reaching a height of three zhang (approximately 10 meters), covered with black flags bearing the character "王" (king), fluttering in the wind.

Patrolling soldiers could be vaguely seen at the gate of the stockade, their armor gleaming coldly in the sunlight, and several catapults were pointed at the way they were coming, creating a tense atmosphere.

"General, the Eagle Beak Stronghold of the Wang family is just ahead, and the garrison commander is Wang Zhong." The scout dismounted, his tone grave. "We have discovered that the stronghold is filled with banners and tents, with at least five thousand garrison troops, and many archers lying in ambush behind the walls."

Qin An reined in his horse and looked at the camp that stood out like an eagle's beak. The camp walls wound along the mountainside, indeed like an eagle's beak poised to pounce, blocking the main road to Black Mountain.

He suddenly laughed, twirling his halberd in his hand: "Perfect, let Wang Zhong see his young master."

"What...what are you going to do?" Wang Teng was so frightened that his legs went weak and he could barely stand. Cold sweat instantly soaked his back, and his previous arrogance vanished completely.

"Come with me to see your general." Qin An's tone was icy, and he slightly tightened his grip on the blade. "If you dare to play tricks, this blade doesn't discriminate."

Pulling Wang Teng toward the gate, Li Jing led a hundred cavalrymen in close pursuit.

The warhorses snorted, the cavalrymen gripped their sword hilts, nocked their bows and crossbows, and kept a watchful eye on the stockade walls on both sides, ready to respond to any surprise attack.

The guards on the stockade wall quickly spotted them, and a series of urgent gong sounds rang out, the clanging sounds piercing the sky.

Wang Zhong stood on the stockade wall, clad in black armor and holding a long sword. When he saw Wang Teng being held hostage by Qin An, his expression changed drastically.

"Qin An! If you dare to touch a single hair on my young master's head, I will tear you to pieces!" His voice was hoarse with anger, which made the surrounding soldiers shrink back.

"General Wang, you have quite the arrogance." Qin An sneered, and with a slight exertion of force, the halberd held against Wang Teng's neck drew a bloody line, from which blood instantly seeped out.

"I need to pass through to Black Mountain to meet up with General Zhang Xu. Let us pass, and Wang Teng will be unharmed, otherwise..." He paused deliberately, pressing the blade in half a step further.

"You're dreaming!" Wang Zhong roared, slamming his longsword against the city bricks, sending sparks flying. "How dare you threaten my Wang family? Eagle Beak Stronghold is impregnable. If you dare harm my young master, I'll make sure you all perish in this canyon!"

"Then you can watch him die." Qin An flicked his wrist, increasing the force once more.

"No! Don't kill me!" Wang Teng was so frightened that tears streamed down his face, and he almost soiled himself. He cursed Wang Zhong on the stockade wall.

"Wang Zhong, you old bastard! Let them pass! If anything happens to me, my father will make your whole family pay with their lives! He'll skin you alive and feed you to the dogs!"

Wang Zhong's face turned ashen.

He knew how much Wang Chong loved this son. If Wang Teng died, even if he managed to hold the camp, he would not escape death, and his family might also be implicated.

Letting Qin An go would be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains, which would surely become a great threat in the future. He was torn between his conscience and his decision.

"General, we can't let him go!" the adjutant beside him cried out urgently, veins bulging on his forehead. "Qin An and Zhang Xu have joined forces, their strength has doubled, and they will surely become a major threat to our army! We should fight to the death; we outnumber them, and we might be able to rescue the young master!"

"But the young master..." Wang Zhong hesitated, his gaze darting back and forth between Qin An and Wang Teng, like an ant on a hot pan.

The soldiers on the stockade wall held their breath; the atmosphere was so tense it was almost palpable.

Seeing this, Qin An deliberately pressed the halberd blade in a little deeper, making the bloodstain even deeper.

"General Wang, I don't have time to waste with you. If you don't give me an answer within an hour, you can just wait to collect your young master's corpse."

Wang Teng screamed in terror, his voice shrill and desperate: "Wang Zhong! Did you hear me! Agree to their request! I don't want to die! I haven't even gotten married yet!"

Wang Zhong gritted his teeth, making a grinding sound, and finally shouted at Qin An, "Fine! I'll let you pass! But you must guarantee the young master's safety. If he loses even a single hair, I will slaughter your entire camp!"

"I'll release him once I've crossed the defenses," Qin An said firmly. "Open the gates!"

Wang Zhong glared fiercely at Qin An, his eyes practically spitting fire, and shouted to the soldiers beside him, "Open the gate!"

The heavy gate of the village slowly opened, making a creaking sound, like a giant beast grinding its teeth.

Behind the door was a deep passageway, lined with soldiers holding spears, their eyes fixed fiercely on Qin An and his group, but they dared not make a move because of Wang Teng.

Qin An pushed Wang Teng and slowly walked in, followed closely by Li Jing and his cavalry. The horses' hooves made a crisp sound on the stone pavement, echoing through the passage.

The cavalrymen kept a vigilant eye on the guards on both sides, ready to act immediately at the slightest sign of trouble.

As Qin An passed through the village gate, he suddenly stopped, his gaze sweeping over the piles of grain and fodder inside the village. A mocking smile appeared on his lips: "General Wang, may I borrow your grain and fodder?"

Wang Zhong glared at him, his chest heaving: "You want to push your luck?"

"It's just a loan, not an intentional return." Qin An pointed to the army behind him, most of whom looked hungry. "My brothers are starving and can't make it to Black Mountain. I might as well do them a favor; we might meet again someday."

Fearing Qin An might change his mind, Wang Teng quickly shouted, "Give it to him! Give it to him! It's just some grain and fodder, right? Give it to him! My father has plenty of money!"

He just wants to get as far away from Qin An, that jinx, as possible.

Wang Zhong was trembling with rage, but he could only grit his teeth and order ten cartloads of grain and dried meat to be brought in. Qin An had the grain taken, and then pushed Wang Teng forward, leaving the area of ​​Eagle Beak Village.

After walking several miles away from the vicinity of Eagle Beak Village, Qin An suddenly stopped.

Wang Teng thought he was going to kill him to silence him, so he was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground and scrambled backward.

"Don't kill me! My father will give you a lot of money! Ten thousand taels of gold! No! One hundred thousand taels!"

Qin An ignored his nonsense and said to Li Jing, "Release him."

Li Jing was taken aback: "General? This is our talisman! If we release him, the Wang family might immediately come after us!"

"Release him, and the Wang family will be thrown into chaos," Qin An repeated, his gaze deep. "This kid will definitely hold a grudge against Wang Zhong, thinking he's incompetent. That will inevitably cause internal strife among them. We can take advantage of their infighting to reunite with General Zhang as soon as possible."

Although Li Jing was puzzled, he still obeyed the order and untied the ropes binding Wang Teng.

Wang Teng scrambled to his feet, picked up a stone from the ground, and was about to throw it when he was startled by Qin An's cold gaze and withdrew his hand.

He pointed at Qin An and cursed, "Qin An! You just wait! I'll make you pay for this in blood! I'll chop you into mincemeat and feed you to the dogs!"

Qin An mounted his horse, his halberd pointing straight ahead: "Let's go."

The cavalry followed closely behind, the sound of their hooves gradually fading into the distance, quickly leaving the curses far behind.

Luo Kai rode up to Qin An, still somewhat puzzled: "Are you really going to let him go? Aren't you afraid he'll go back and get reinforcements?"

"What's there to be afraid of?" Qin An gazed at the distant Black Mountain, its outline faintly visible in the clouds, a sharp glint in his eyes.

Luo Kai then stopped talking.

The group quickened their pace, speeding towards Black Mountain. The closer they got to Black Mountain, the stronger the stench of blood in the air became, as if countless wronged souls were wandering in the air.

Along the way, one could see the bodies of fallen soldiers from time to time, including government troops and rebels. Crows circled above the corpses, cawing mournfully.

"General, we've spotted a rout of government troops ahead!" the scout reported on horseback, pale-faced and urgent. "Judging by their banners, they're under General Zhang's command!"

Qin An spurred his horse forward and saw dozens of government soldiers supporting each other as they walked south. They were all ragged, covered in wounds, and many were coughing up blood.

The leader was a captain with a broken arm, his empty left sleeve swaying in the wind.

Upon seeing the large banner bearing the character "Qin" in Qin'an's name, he was first stunned, then burst into tears, kneeling down with a thud: "General Qin! You've finally come! General Zhang is about to collapse!"

"What happened?" Qin An's heart tightened. He dismounted and helped him up. "General Zhang, what's wrong? How is the situation over there?"

"Xu Mao of Ligang Village... Xu Mao led a large army to surround General Zhang in Heishan City!" the captain choked out, tears mingling with the blood on his face.

"The rebels number 30,000 and attack day and night. We've tried to break out several times but failed, losing many brothers. Now our brothers are out of food and supplies, and we don't even have medicine for the wounded. If this drags on any longer, I'm afraid... I'm afraid we won't be able to hold out!"

Qin An's expression changed drastically, and his brows furrowed.

He hadn't expected Xu Mao to act so quickly, already surrounding Zhang Xu's army.