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

The next day, outside Anyang City.

Qin An led out his black horse, Ta Xue Wu Zhui, with only a bag and a halberd with its blade wrapped in cloth hanging on the saddle.

As dawn broke, the sunlight shone on the dirt road at the city gate, casting a long shadow.

Luo Kai stood at the city gate, his face grim: "Are you sure you don't need us to come with you? The capital is a place where you'll be alone. If something happens, you won't even have anyone to help you."

"More people will only slow things down." Qin An tightened the reins on his horse without turning his head. "The sooner the defeat is resolved, the better. I can reach the capital in three days by myself at full speed. If you come along, you'll only slow us down."

"But brother-in-law..." Li Jing stepped forward, but before he could finish speaking, Qin An raised his hand to interrupt him.

"You stay here." Qin An's tone left no room for argument. "The brothers have just settled down, and the wounded haven't fully recovered. If the commander leaves now, morale will collapse. Brother Luo, General Cheng, I'm leaving this place to you."

Cheng Zhiyuan clasped his hands in a fist and said in a muffled voice, "General, don't worry, with us here, the brothers will be fine."

Luo Kai was silent for a moment, then suddenly stepped forward and patted Qin An's shoulder hard: "Go and come back soon. If the Yuwen family dares to make things difficult for you, send someone to tell them that I'll lead my troops to smash their door."

Qin An smiled but didn't reply.

He mounted his horse, and the black steed snorted and pawed the ground with its front hooves.

Li Jing suddenly ran forward, took out an oil paper package from his pocket, and stuffed it into Qin An's hand: "Prepare more dry food for the journey."

Qin An opened it and found several steamed buns that were still warm.

He carefully tucked the oil paper package into his bosom, clasped his hands in a fist salute to the crowd, then spurred his horse, the Snow-White Black Steed, and with a long neigh, charged onto the official road like an arrow released from a bow.

From Anyang to the capital, it takes three days by fast horse.

The Snow-Treading Black Steed is indeed a fine horse, capable of traveling hundreds of miles a day without a problem.

Qin An hardly stopped. When he was hungry, he would eat a few bites of dry rations on horseback, and when he was sleepy, he would lie down by the roadside fully clothed for an hour or two.

On the morning of the fourth day, the towering city walls of the capital finally came into view.

He reined in his horse at the city gate and looked up at the familiar gate.

He left the capital as a general on a military expedition, but returned as a defeated general.

Same city gate, two identities.

Qin An did not go home.

He didn't even glance at the Qin residence before riding straight towards the Yuwen residence.

The Yuwen Mansion is located on the east side of Zhuque Avenue, the most bustling street in the capital, occupying most of the street.

The gate is adorned with vermilion nails and imposing stone lions; the threshold is so high it reaches above a person's knees.

Qin An dismounted in front of the mansion gate, tied the reins to the hitching post, straightened his still dusty armor, and stepped forward.

"This humble general, Qin An, requests an audience with Prime Minister Yuwen." He handed the visiting card to the gatekeeper with both hands.

The gatekeeper took the visiting card, looked him up and down, his gaze lingering on his dusty armor and the cloth-wrapped halberd. Then, he lazily said, "Wait," and turned to enter the mansion.

This wait lasted for an hour.

Qin An stood at the foot of the stone steps in front of the Yuwen Mansion, his posture as straight as a pine tree.

During this time, several official sedan chairs entered and exited through the side gate, and officials in fine clothes passed by him, casting curious or disdainful glances.

He ignored it all.

Two hours later, the gatekeeper slowly came out, said, "The Prime Minister is busy today, please come another day," and then closed the gate.

Qin An did not leave.

He stepped back, remaining standing at the foot of the stone steps, and continued to wait.

Meanwhile, inside the Yuwen residence, a conversation about him is taking place.

Yuwen Hua's study was spacious and bright, with a huge "Ten Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" painting hanging on the wall, and a Duan inkstone on the table, with several memorials still exuding the fragrance of ink next to it.

Yuwen Hua sat in a grand chair, slowly sipping a cup of tea.

His temples were slightly gray, his face was thin, but his eyes were so sharp that people dared not look directly at him.

Yuwen Rong sat on the left, his figure as imposing as an iron tower, towering above the others even when seated.

Yuwen Zhi sat on the right, his complexion was better than when he returned from the front lines last time, but the sinister look between his brows remained unchanged.

In fact, they already knew that Qin An was waiting outside and had guessed his intentions.

Yuwen Hua wasn't in a hurry to see Qin An at all; he was deliberately keeping him waiting.

Yuwen Rong and Yuwen Zhi also knew.

Although they had all dealt with Qin An and were considered acquaintances, the head of the Yuwen family was Yuwen Hua, so even if Ha Ming had some ideas, he didn't dare to make decisions on his own.

Yuwen Hua put down his teacup, his tone as calm as if he were talking about the weather, "You've all seen the news from the front lines, tell me about it."

Yuwen Rong spoke first, his voice deep and rumbling like thunder: "I've read the battle report. In the Battle of Black Mountain City, Zhang Xu was killed in action while covering the rear. Qin An led the remaining troops to break through the encirclement, first defeating Wang Chong's 40,000-strong army, and then fighting his way out of the three-way encirclement."

"Of the 50,000 troops, only 5,000 remained, but the defeat was not his fault. This man was a skilled strategist and a capable fighter."

"So what if he can fight?" Yuwen Zhi sneered. "He's just a brute."

"A brute?" Yuwen Rong glanced at his good-for-nothing brother. "He was able to defeat the Wang family's 10,000-strong army with 1,500 cavalry at Qing Shi Yu, and he was able to lead the remnants out of an encirclement of 100,000 men. You call that a brute?"

Yuwen Zhi choked for a moment, and his expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

Fortunately, at this moment, Yuwen Hua interrupted their argument: "Don't act impulsively, just state your opinion!"

From Yuwen Rong's speech, Yuwen Hua could tell that he still thought highly of Qin An, so he wanted to hear Yuwen Zhi's thoughts!

"I don't like him!" Yuwen Zhi clearly stated his attitude towards Qin An.

He still harbored resentment whenever he thought back to when Qin An wasn't very respectful to him in Xinyang City.

However, in front of his father, he chose to stick to the facts.

"But no matter what, he did save my life in Xinyang City. Since he came to our door begging, it wouldn't hurt to take him in as a dog. Anyway, the Yuwen family isn't short of food."

Yuwen Rong frowned, seemingly disagreeing with the idea of ​​"being treated like a dog," but said nothing more.

After listening to his two sons' opinions, Yuwen Hua did not immediately express his opinion.

He picked up his teacup, took another sip, and slowly put it down: "Let's leave it for now and see how sincere he is."

So Qin An continued to wait.

From dawn until noon, the sun hung overhead like a fireball, making the bluestone slabs on the ground steam.

Qin An's armor was scorching hot from the sun, and sweat streamed down his temples, forming small puddles on the ground. He remained motionless, standing ramrod straight.

Passersby couldn't help but turn their heads.

Someone recognized him and began to whisper among themselves.

"Isn't that Qin An?"

"Didn't he go to the front lines? Why is he standing at the entrance of the Yuwen residence?"

"Judging from his expression, it seems he's asking the Yuwen family for something. Could it be that he also wants to side with the Yuwen family and become their accomplice?"

"Bah! I used to think he was a young prodigy, but now I see he's nothing special."

"..."

Qin An ignored him and waited respectfully.

But it seemed that fate was deliberately making things difficult for him.

As evening approached, the sky suddenly changed.

Dark clouds pressed in from the horizon, and several streaks of lightning cleaved the gloomy sky, followed by a torrential downpour. The rain pounded on the bluestone slabs, splashing up a white spray.

Pedestrians on the street rushed to the eaves to take shelter from the rain, while vendors hurriedly packed up their stalls.

Qin An did not move.

Rainwater streamed down his helmet, across his cheeks, and into his collar.

The dust on the armor was washed away, revealing the mottled battle scars underneath.

The nicks and nicks from the knife cuts and arrow scratches gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen in the rain.

The shaft of the halberd was soaked by rainwater, and it felt cold and slippery in my hand.

He still stood ramrod straight.

As night fell, the rain subsided, but the chill intensified.

Qin An was soaked to the bone, his lips already white with cold. Beside the hitching post behind him, his black horse, Ta Xue Wu Zhui, pawed restlessly, its wet mane clinging to its neck, occasionally snorting.

He silently counted the hours in his mind.

He knew the Yuwen family was doing it on purpose.

If Yuwen Hua really wanted to see him, he could have done so long ago.

Leaving him hanging was merely a way of assessing his worth and letting him know how high the threshold of the Yuwen family was, and that not just anyone could enter.

Being left hanging like this, Qin An naturally felt an indescribable humiliation.

But he couldn't leave, and he didn't even dare to show the slightest dissatisfaction.

The lives of five thousand brothers were far more important than his knees.

As long as the Yuwen family agrees, the blame for the defeat can be suppressed.

As long as the blame for the defeat can be suppressed, the brothers will be able to live better lives.

As for personal honor or disgrace, it doesn't matter.

Just as Qin An was silently enduring it, he heard the sound of a door opening behind him.

"General Qin, the Prime Minister requests your presence."

Qin An turned around and stepped onto the stone steps.

Each step left a wet footprint on the stone steps.

A charcoal fire was burning in the study, and warmth wafted over.

Yuwen Hua sat on a grand chair, wearing a dark blue brocade robe with embroidered patterns on the cuffs. A cup of hot tea sat beside him, its aroma wafting through the air.

Upon seeing Qin An enter, he gave a perfectly timed smile.

"General Qin, I have been busy with official duties today and only just learned that you were waiting outside. I am truly sorry for the neglect." Yuwen Hua raised his hand, "Please sit down."

Qin An did not sit down.

He stepped forward and knelt on one knee in front of Yuwen Hua, his armor hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

"The defeated general Qin An pays his respects to the Prime Minister."

Yuwen Hua's gaze swept over his soaked armor before returning to his face: "General Qin, what are you doing? Get up and speak."

Qin An did not get up.

"Prime Minister," he said, his head bowed, his voice hoarse yet clear, "this humble general is incompetent; the situation at the front..."

Although he had already guessed that Yuwen Hua must know about the situation at the front, he still recounted the situation there.

Finally, Qin An lowered his head and said, "This humble general led five thousand remnant soldiers in a breakout attempt. Now, we have no food to eat and no orders to obey. I humbly request the Prime Minister to take us in."

Yuwen Hua picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and didn't reply.

Qin An had prepared himself mentally before arriving, and immediately pleaded without hesitation, "I humbly beg the Prime Minister to take me in; this humble general is willing to serve you to the utmost!"