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

The moment Xu Mao saw Qin An leading five thousand cavalrymen appear below the city, his eyes narrowed instantly.

Five thousand cavalrymen—not too many, not too few—would be enough to attack the city, but enough to block all the roads leading out of Losi.

Qin An rode his horse to a stop just an arrow's throw away outside the city.

He looked up, his gaze sweeping across the city wall before finally settling on Xu Mao.

His voice carried very clearly across the wilderness, as if he knew Xu Mao would hear it.

"Xu Mao! I thought you were someone special, but it seems you're nothing special. Since you're going to play the coward, I don't have time to waste with you!"

He pointed his halberd at the city wall, his tone full of sarcasm.

"You're out of food, aren't you? I'll wait for you to starve to death. From today onwards, Luo City belongs to my army, and this place belongs to my five thousand cavalry. Let's see how long you can keep hiding!"

Such a close-range attack caused an uproar on the city wall.

The young captains were so angry that their faces turned purple, and they drew their swords, ready to charge down the city walls.

Wu Yun was the first to explode, slamming his fist on the battlement: "General! This bastard is too arrogant, I'll go and kill him!"

Wu Tian stepped forward: "His five thousand men are clearly here to humiliate us. If we don't swallow this insult, the brothers won't be able to sleep!"

Xu Mao did not move.

He stood there, his face ashen, without uttering a word.

Wu Yun got anxious and wanted to shout again, but Shan Tong grabbed his shoulder.

Dan Tong didn't speak, but simply shook his head slightly at Wu Yun.

"Go back." Xu Mao finally spoke, uttering only two words before turning and descending the city wall.

Wu Yun watched his retreating figure, his fingers gripping the spear cracking, and a low growl escaped his throat.

Wu Tian patted him on the shoulder, and the two brothers exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of barely suppressed anger in each other's eyes.

Xu Mao returned to his tent and sat alone for a long time.

The tea on the table had gone cold. He picked it up, took a sip, and frowned at the bitterness.

The scene outside the city kept replaying in my mind.

The main force of the government army did indeed head towards Luoyang. Judging from Qin An's arrangement of leaving 5,000 cavalry to cover the rear, the main force was truly leaving, not just making a show of force.

But the more this happened, the more uneasy he felt.

Why didn't Qin An block this last resort as well?

Why did he make such a clear distinction between the main force and the auxiliary forces?

The five thousand cavalrymen were positioned there, able to block the way but not completely, as if deliberately leaving a gap.

Xu Mao could almost see the light shining through the crack, and he could also smell the blood hidden behind the light.

He paced back and forth in the tent.

The account books were spread out on the table.

It was clearly written that they had very little food left and could not last much longer.

Of course, if one is determined to hold out to the bitter end, there are still ways to solve the food problem.

But he didn't want it to come to that.

Moreover, the people below might not be able to accept it.

"Did he calculate that I would definitely leave the city and fight him? What makes him think that?"

After a little thought, Xu Mao understood the key point.

"What about people's morale?" Thinking of his men, who were growing increasingly agitated over the food shortage, Xu Mao sighed softly. "Qin An is indeed a formidable opponent; his timing is impeccable!"

He had to admit that Qin An's move had indeed struck at his weak point.

If the government troops keep pressing forward and leave him no way out, he will be able to suppress the dissenting voices below.

With a shared hatred of the enemy, it is not impossible to fight against the government troops.

But Qin An, at this very moment, deliberately opened a way out.

Under such circumstances, how could his men possibly fight to the death for the Wang family?

But Xu Mao was still somewhat unwilling to abandon the city and leave.

For the army to leave such a city was tantamount to gambling the lives of the entire army on a game where they were led by the nose.

Those who are skilled at leading troops in battle dislike uncertainty the most.

For a moment, even Xu Mao, who was usually calm and composed, felt somewhat troubled and couldn't make a decision.

The night is deep.

There was a rustling sound outside the tent, and several guards were whispering among themselves.

Xu Mao lifted the curtain and glanced inside. Several tents were lit, their flames flickering in the night.

Faint voices could be heard coming from inside the tent, and Wu Yun's loud voice pierced through the night wind.

"The main force of the government troops has left! There are only a few thousand cavalry outside the city; this is a golden opportunity..."

Xu Mao lowered the curtain and slowly sat back down at the desk.

His fingers traced the ledger a couple of times, then he stopped abruptly. "Let's wait and see, until the situation becomes clearer!"

Xu Mao ultimately did not rush to make a decision and adopted the tactic of delaying.

……

While the stalemate continued in Los Angeles, the battle in Los Angeles broke out earlier than Qin An had anticipated.

Although Qin An did not expect to actually be able to take Luocheng, Yuwen Rong did not think so.

He divided the team into three groups to take turns. The first group had just retreated when the second group pushed the battering ram up to the top.

Stones pounded against the city wall with a loud thud, and the flames from rockets drew bright streaks in the twilight sky.

Wang Chong stood on the city tower, personally overseeing the battle, his voice already hoarse from shouting.

The defenders on the city wall poured pot after pot of boiling oil down the wall, and the screams were drowned out by the muffled thuds of stones hitting the wall.

One ladder was pushed over and crashed into the crowd below, and another one was quickly erected in its place.

Those below the city walls climbed up by stepping on the corpses of their companions, while those on the walls used long poles to push people down.

The two sides fought repeatedly in the narrow space where the city wall and the siege ladder met, their flesh and blood becoming a bloody mess, indistinguishable from one another.

Yuwen Rong watched from afar on horseback, his gilded halberd held across the front of the saddle.

A messenger ran over and said, "General, our losses in the siege are too great. Should we take a break?"

Yuwen Rong didn't even turn his head: "Continue the attack. Send the third wave forward. They are not allowed to retreat within an hour."

The messenger opened his mouth, then turned and ran away.

The soil beneath the walls of Los Angeles was a whole ring darker than elsewhere.

The soil, soaked in blood, felt sticky underfoot, and each step kicked up a cloud of reddish-brown mud.

Yuwen Rong watched the soldiers climbing from his horse, his fingers tapping the shaft of his gilded halberd, his face expressionless.

He cursed inwardly, but couldn't say it aloud, and could only continue watching those people climb up.

Under Yuwen Rong's fierce determination, the battle in Luocheng became incredibly intense.

This situation quickly spread to Losi City.

After confirming that fighting had indeed broken out in Los Angeles, the forces in Los Angeles became even more restless.

Before this, they had a slight concern that Qin An was deliberately creating a diversion.

On the surface, there were only five thousand cavalry, but in secret, a large army had set up an ambush to lure them into a trap.

Therefore, although they had reservations about Xu Mao's delays, they were still able to suppress their restlessness.

But now, after learning how fierce the fighting was in Los Angeles, their last bit of concern has completely disappeared.

Seeing that Xu Mao was still in no hurry to act, some people could no longer tolerate it.

On this day, Shan Tong, Wu Tian, ​​and Wu Yun arrived together at the central command tent.

He was followed by a number of generals.

Wu Yun walked in front, her voice arriving before she even entered the room.

"General! Our chance has come! The main force of the government troops has all gone to Luoyang, leaving only Qin An's few thousand cavalry outside the city. If we leave now, we can escape with most of them!"

His eyes shone as he spoke, with the light of someone who had been starving seeing food.

Xu Mao remained seated behind his desk.

He glanced at Shan Tong.

Dan Tong stood half a step behind Wu Yun, saying nothing but also showing no sign of objection.

He glanced at Wu Tian again, but Wu Tian avoided his gaze and looked down at the ground.

All the other generals had their eyes fixed on him, and their gazes were saying the same thing.

It's time to go.

Clearly, after enduring six months here, they were all getting a little impatient.

Xu Mao put down his pen: "And what happens after we leave the city? Qin An is waiting outside. Do you think those several thousand cavalrymen are just for show?"

Wu Yun retorted, his neck stiff with shrug, "It's better than starving to death in the city! Commander, you know the food situation better than we do. If we don't leave now, half of us will collapse even before Qin An attacks!"

"Those few thousand cavalrymen in Qin'an can't stop all of us. We should charge out and escape as many as possible; it's better than sitting here and waiting to die!"

Just then, Wu Tian took a step forward. His voice wasn't as loud as Wu Yun's, but the weight of his words was no less.

"General, it's not that the brothers don't believe in you. If it's for our Ligang Village, we will never retreat. But to fight to the death for the Wang family, the brothers are not willing."

Wu Tian's words expressed what everyone was thinking.

The soldiers of Ligang Village still harbored some resentment towards the Wang family.

From the beginning, Wang Chong and Cao Deren distrusted them and were wary of them at every turn.

After arriving in Losi City, the royal family promised to provide provisions.

But what happened? The good days didn't last long before the supply lines were cut off, and they had to find a way to solve the food problem themselves.

The situation is already so critical, yet they are still being asked to risk their lives for the Wang family. All they can say is, why?

"Shan Tong, is that what you think too?" Xu Mao's words were devoid of emotion; he simply asked calmly.

Dan Tong hesitated for a moment, "General, the brothers are all homesick. In the end, we are just friendly forces. We have already done our best to help the Wang family guard this place for so long."

As an old friend, he did want to support Xu Mao.

But he also knew what his men were thinking.

If we can eat and drink well here, we might be able to hold on for a while longer.

But now, having been trapped here for half a year, and unable to even guarantee their most basic living needs, people are starting to feel restless!

Xu Mao glanced at everyone and stared at them for a long time.

The tent was so quiet that you could hear the wind whistling through the flags outside; the atmosphere was oppressive.

In the end, Xu Mao sighed inwardly, knowing that there was nothing he could do to change the situation.

The current situation clearly shows that morale has collapsed and the team is difficult to lead!