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

Upon seeing Han Quan personally leading his men over, an older constable asked, "Officer Han, who is this?"

"This is Qin An, the new constable. He's here to report for duty today. He's our savior!" Han Quan introduced.

The constable quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "So it's Brother Qin, welcome, welcome."

Qin An politely returned the greeting.

Upon entering the county government office, Han Quan led Qin An through the front courtyard to a room with a plaque that read "Police Station".

Inside the room were several tables and chairs, where a few constables were sitting and chatting. When they saw Han Quan enter, they all stood up and said, "Captain Han."

"You're all busy." Han Quan waved his hand and led Qin An to a table at the very back. He said to a clerk who was copying documents with his head down, "Clerk Wang, this is Qin An, here to report for duty."

The clerk looked up; he was about forty years old, wearing a small hat. He glanced at Qin An and slowly took out a booklet.

"Name, place of origin, any family ties, and what skills do you have?"

Qin An reported everything, and when talking about his skills, he specifically mentioned that he was good at archery and tracking.

Wang Limu nodded, made a few notes in the register, and then took out a set of constable's clothes and a waist tag.

"This is your uniform and badge. Keep them safe. From today onwards, you are a constable of Xingye County. Your monthly salary is eight hundred cash, which you will collect from the accounting office on the first day of each month. You will be under the command of Constable Han and must not leave your post without permission or oppress the people..."

He went on and on about all the rules, which Qin An listened to patiently. Finally, he pressed his fingerprint on the document, which officially marked him as an employee.

"Alright, all the formalities are complete." Han Quan patted Qin An on the shoulder. "There are dormitories behind the police station. I'll take you to see them."

The dormitory was a row of simple mud houses. Each room was small, containing a bed, a table, and a chair, but it was fairly clean.

Han Quan pointed to one of the rooms: "No one lives in this one, so you can stay here. This will be your place to stay in the county town from now on."

Qin An put down the cloth bag, looked around the room, and said, "Thank you, Brother Han."

"Why are you being so polite with me?" Han Quan sighed. "Speaking of which, we suffered quite a loss this time in mobilizing hunters into the mountains. Five constables were killed, and more than a dozen hunters haven't returned yet. The police station is short-staffed right now, and we're probably going to be busy from now on. Since you've just joined, you should first follow the old constables to get familiar with your duties and make sure you don't make any mistakes."

Qin An nodded: "I understand."

"By the way, don't rush home these next few days. There might be some work to do in the county at any time. I'll approve your leave after this busy period is over," Han Quan added.

"it is good."

As the two were talking, a constable rushed in: "Captain Han, Magistrate He requests your presence."

"Understood," Han Quan replied, then said to Qin An, "I'm going to see the magistrate first. You rest in your dormitory for a while, and I'll come find you later."

After Han Quan left, Qin An tidied up the room, put his change of clothes in the cabinet at the foot of the bed, and carefully put away his waist tag and uniform.

He sat in the chair, looking out the window at the courtyard wall of the county government office, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

In just a few days, he went from being a hunter to a constable in the county government.

This change in identity left him somewhat dazed.

About an hour later, Han Quan returned, looking somewhat tired.

"I just reported the cases from a few days ago to the county magistrate, and I still need to write a detailed case file. It's such a hassle."

He complained for a moment, then said to Qin An, "I've found you a partner, an old constable named Cheng Du. You can learn from him first. Although he's a bit rough around the edges, he knows the ways of the town. Ask him for advice."

As they were talking, a slightly overweight constable with a thick beard walked in. He looked to be in his forties and had a somewhat slick look on his face.

"Officer Han, you wanted to see me?"

"Chengdu, this is Qin An, a new constable. He'll be your companion from now on, so please mentor him," Han Quan introduced.

Cheng Du sized Qin An up and down, then smiled broadly: "So it's Brother Qin! I've heard so much about you. I heard you single-handedly killed over a dozen Baiji spies—truly impressive!"

"Brother Cheng, you flatter me. I was just lucky," Qin An said politely.

"Luck is also part of ability." Cheng Du patted him on the shoulder. "Come on, Brother Qin, I'll take you on a patrol so you can get familiar with our job."

Qin An followed Cheng Du out of the county government office. Cheng Du handed him a fire-and-water stick: "Take this. You need a weapon to patrol the streets."

Qin An took the water-fire stick, weighed it in his hand, and found it to be quite heavy.

The two men, dressed in police uniforms, walked slowly along the main street of the county town.

They hadn't walked more than a few steps when a roadside steamed bun vendor greeted them with a smile: "Officer Cheng, Officer Qin, good morning! Freshly steamed buns, want to try some?"

Without any hesitation, Cheng Du picked up two steamed buns and stuffed them into his mouth, saying indistinctly, "Mmm, they taste good. Make me ten, and put it on my tab."

The vendor smiled, but a hint of pain flashed in his eyes. He quickly replied, "Alright, Officer Cheng, I'll wrap it up for you right away."

Qin An saw this but remained silent.

As they continued walking, a cloth shop owner saw them and ran out from afar, holding two bolts of cloth: "Officer Cheng, this is new fabric that just arrived at the shop. How about making a dress for your wife?"

Cheng Du picked up the cloth, touched it, and pouted, "This material is no good, it's too rough. Oh well, I'll accept it since you've put in the effort."

Without any hesitation, he handed the cloth to Qin An, saying, "Brother Qin, take this."

Qin An hesitated for a moment, but still accepted it.

The cloth shop owner had a smile on his face, but after seeing them off, he secretly wiped his face and sighed.

Such incidents occurred frequently along the way.

Cheng Du would either get some oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar from the grocery store, or get a piece of meat from the butcher shop, always saying he would put it on the tab, but I never saw him pay.

The people dared not speak out against their anger, their faces plastered with smiles, but their hearts were probably already cursing them to death.

Even though Qin An had refrained from asking, Du Cheng still managed to glean something from him.

When they reached a secluded spot, Cheng Du suddenly asked, "Brother Qin, do you think I'm bullying you a bit?"

"A little!" Qin An nodded directly!

Cheng Du wasn't annoyed by this, but simply smiled and said, "You don't understand. We constables are out there all day, braving wind and rain, maintaining order in the county. Isn't it only right that they give us something as a token of their respect?"

"To put it bluntly, it's their good fortune that we even have them on our radar. Otherwise, if they ever get into trouble, who's going to make an exception for them?"

Looking at Cheng Du's matter-of-fact attitude, and recalling the stoic expressions of the people along the way, he felt as if a stone was lodged in his heart.

Are these the low-level officials in Daxing?

This is not maintaining public order; it's blatant extortion!

But then, Cheng Du suddenly said quietly, "Of course, more importantly, we only earn a few hundred coins a month. Do they really expect us to risk our lives?"

Qin An fell silent, suddenly finding himself speechless!