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

After daybreak, the three parties immediately took stock of the losses.

Xu Mao's camp only burned a few piles of hay and three granaries in the north, and the number of casualties was no more than a thousand.

Most of them were trampled during the chaotic charge of the soldiers.

Wang Chong and Cao Deren's camps were not so lucky.

Wang Chong stood in the center of his camp on the charred open ground, his face ashen.

In front of him lay a row of corpses that had not yet been collected.

A rough count reveals no fewer than a thousand.

More than half of them were wearing the armor of Cao Deren's Chang Le Army.

The number of injured is countless.

"Five of my granaries were burned down." Cao Deren walked over from the west, his voice laced with anger. "Wang Chong, you fucking explain yourself! Why are your men in my camp?"

Wang Chong turned to look at him, a smirk playing on his lips: "Then I'd like to ask you something too: why did your men die on my turf?"

The two stared at each other for a moment, both seeing barely suppressed anger in each other's eyes!

Cao Deren clenched and unclenched his fist repeatedly, finally letting out a cold laugh: "Your fire has nothing to do with me."

"I didn't send anyone to your side either," Wang Chong said, his voice equally cold and hard.

Xu Mao stood a few steps behind the two men. After listening to their conversation, he suddenly spoke up: "Have you ever considered that someone might have deliberately provoked this?"

They both turned to look at him at the same time.

"The three fires broke out almost simultaneously. One group attacked Chief Wang's flag and then attacked Brother Cao's camp, another group attacked Brother Cao's flag and then attacked Chief Wang's camp, and the rest set fire to our border area."

Xu Mao's gaze swept over Wang Chong and Cao Deren's faces respectively: "Do you think this is a coincidence?"

Cao Deren frowned slightly, and Wang Chong pursed his lips into a thin line.

The two were silent for a moment, but then Cao Deren spoke first, his tone mocking.

"Brother Xu is quite clear-headed, but your men suffered the fewest casualties and the least amount of grain burned, so it's easy for you to talk without feeling the pain."

Xu Mao's expression darkened.

Wang Chong added insult to injury: "Xu Mao, none of your soldiers rushed out last night. Did you already know something was going to happen?"

"You!" Xu Mao whirled around. "Wang Chong, what do you mean by that? Is it wrong for my men not to run away? Are you only satisfied if I send them out to fight you all?"

Cao Deren remained silent, but a cold smile lingered on his lips. The firelight illuminated his profile, clearly showing his silent, spectator-like demeanor.

Xu Mao's gaze swept back and forth between the two men twice before he finally realized a fact.

No matter how he explained, the two of them wouldn't completely believe him.

The casualty figures from last night's chaos are stark in the face; each body silently amplifies the rift between them.

He took a deep breath and suddenly lowered his voice.

"Alright, let's not talk about last night." He took two steps forward and stood in front of Wang Chong. "You said you would solve the food problem within three days, but now this situation has arisen again, and the food is even less. If you can't come up with a solution, don't blame me for not keeping you company."

He now deeply understands that fighting as a coalition force is not an easy task.

Even if you have extraordinary abilities, if you have incompetent teammates and the enemy is not someone you can command, it is harder than climbing to heaven to fight successfully.

If things continue as they are now, my lifelong reputation will probably be ruined here.

He was too lazy to play along with Wang Chong anymore, so he confronted him directly, his tone carrying a sense of coercion.

Wang Chong's eyelid twitched.

Cao Deren unusually did not refute Xu Mao.

Although he was not as good at leading troops as Xu Mao, he also realized that the battle could not be won with everyone harboring their own selfish motives.

He couldn't just stand by and watch his brothers fight a battle they were destined to lose, only to be buried with the royal family for nothing.

So this time, he chose to stand on Xu Mao's side.

"Chief Wang, we really can't delay any longer. Within seven days, we must either come up with an effective solution or withdraw."

"Where to?" Wang Chong asked slowly.

Cao Deren glanced at Xu Mao, and the two exchanged a brief look.

Xu Maoxian spoke up: "Luocheng, let's retreat to Luocheng and defend it with our combined forces. It's better than being cut off from our supply lines outside."

Wang Chong fell silent.

A string in his heart was suddenly plucked.

Los Angeles was the foundation of his royal family; all his possessions were there.

He had previously worried that Xu Mao and Cao Deren's forces would take over Luoyang.

Now that the conflict between them has intensified, he is naturally even less willing to take this risk.

The longer he remained silent, the uglier Xu Mao and Cao Deren's expressions became.

"We can retreat!" Wang Chong finally spoke, his tone slow and cautious, "but we don't necessarily have to choose Luo City."

Cao Deren frowned: "What do you mean?"

"Near Luocheng, there are two other county towns that are completely under the control of my Wang family and can be used to station troops." Wang Chong's voice became a little calmer. "Each of the three families will be stationed in one town, supporting each other and forming a triangular formation. The grain and fodder will be centrally allocated by Luocheng, and I will replenish the grain for whoever is short of it."

Wang Chong had clearly had this idea for a long time.

But before that, he still felt a little reluctant.

Those two county towns, while not as good as Luocheng, were still quite decent.

If the troops were to be stationed by Xu Mao and Cao Deren, it would be like throwing meat buns to a dog, resulting in significant losses for the Wang family at present.

But now that things have come to this, we must choose the lesser of two evils.

Wang Chong's idea was good, but Xu Mao snorted coldly after hearing it and bluntly said, "It's a solution, but I don't trust you."

Xu Mao had naturally considered this strategy long ago.

The three sides formed a defensive triangle, and if one side was in trouble, the other two would come to its aid. Even if the government troops were highly skilled, they would find it difficult to break through this formidable defense.

This is indeed the best course of action.

Even though he knew this method existed, Xu Mao never mentioned it, because he knew in his heart that this was only the most ideal situation.

Without sufficient trust, it's easy for an ally to be caught in a predicament, remaining unmoved and vulnerable to being defeated one by one.

Unfortunately, all three families lacked basic trust.

Upon hearing this, Wang Chong instantly flew into a rage: "What is there to distrust?"

Xu Mao, having completely given up hope, frankly stated, "The county town can't supply the needs of 20,000 troops, which means all the provisions will have to pass through your hands. What if you cut off the supply to any of them?"

"What good would it do me to cut off your supplies?" Wang Chong's voice was filled with barely suppressed anger. "You two combined have 40,000 men, and even with my troops from Luo City, I only have 50,000. If I cut off your supplies, you can easily turn around and attack me. Do you think I'm tired of living?"

After these words were spoken, the tent fell silent for a moment.

Xu Mao and Cao Deren instantly understood his mindset.

Wang Chong's act of comparing the numbers of the two sides' troops clearly shows that he would never allow both sides' troops to fully enter Luocheng.

This made them realize that it was probably inevitable that the three sides would have to divide their forces and station them in different locations.

Cao Deren belatedly realized the problem and raised a question that Xu Mao had already considered.

"Each of the three families is stationed in a city. What if one of them gets raided in the middle of the night? Should we still go and rescue them?"

"Save them," Wang Chong answered decisively. "We swear an oath to Heaven: if one side requests aid, the other two cities must send troops to its aid. If one refuses, the other two will attack it together."

Xu Mao and Cao Deren exchanged a glance.

This solution isn't perfect, but there's really no better way to do it in the short term.

Xu Mao hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded: "Okay, but I have one condition."

Clearly, although he had completely broken ties with Wang Chong and frequently threatened to withdraw his troops, he had never actually considered doing so.

The alliance of the three factions to jointly resist the government army and avoid being defeated one by one by the court is a recognized grand strategy.

He certainly couldn't just sit idly by and watch the Wang family be wiped out by the government troops.

Knowing Wang Chong's bottom line, he could only try his best to mitigate the damage caused by the opponent's strategy.

"explain."

"We three families are combined, and each city must have troops from all three families present. Moreover, your son must personally lead the troops to garrison our two cities."

Wang Chong's fingers paused on the table for a moment.

He understood what Xu Mao meant.

By holding the Wang family hostage in the hands of the other two families, they could ensure that they dared not cut off the food supply.

Moreover, the fact that the three companies are mixing in each other's resources can also make each other more cautious.

Although this demand was blunt, it was the most direct way to resolve the crisis of trust.

"Alright." Wang Chong nodded, his voice flat and even. "I'll have Wang Teng lead three thousand men to accompany you."

Xu Mao raised an eyebrow.

Wang Teng was Wang Chong's most favored son.

That man had 10,000 soldiers annihilated by Qin Anquan at Qingshi Gorge and was captured alive.

Wang Chong's willingness to send him out as a hostage is enough to demonstrate his sincerity.

After making concessions to Xu Mao, Wang Chong did not show favoritism and said to Cao Deren in the same way, "My son..."

Wang Cong is the most outstanding son of my Wang family, and he is most skilled in battle. I will have him lead men to accompany you.

Xu Mao and Cao Deren exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously.

"Then it's settled." Xu Mao stood up and glanced at the sky outside the tent.

The sky was already turning a pale white, and the fire from last night had burned away half of the camp's hay, with embers still smoldering.

"Start preparing to break camp today. Send people to each of the three cities to rest and prepare. The relocation must be completed within three days."

Wang Chong didn't answer, but stood with his back to the two men in front of the map, his finger pointing at the location of Luocheng. He stared at the two county towns near Luocheng, his heart churning with indescribable emotions.

Sending his son away as a hostage was a step further than he had anticipated.

But with his supply lines cut off, his camp in turmoil, and his mind wavering, he had no time to hesitate any longer.

The curtains fell, and the footsteps faded into the distance.

Wang Chong stood alone in the dim morning light, slowly turning around to look at the campsite outside, which had been burned to a crisp. His fingers clenched and unclenched in his sleeve.

"At least we held the line. Xu Mao and Cao Deren didn't actually enter Luocheng. Even if those two counties were occupied, as long as Luocheng is still in my hands, the initiative remains with me. So, in that sense, I still won!"

Thinking this way, he finally felt a little better.

Qin An, who was preparing to return to the battlefield, had his eyes light up the moment he received the news that Wang Chong had actually sent out his two sons.

From Wang Chong's action, he saw an opportunity to break the deadlock, and his gaze involuntarily fell on Tong Rong!