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

Qin An's figure disappeared at the end of the official road, while Yang Yuyan and her two daughters remained standing at the village entrance, not moving for a long time.

"Mother, let's go back." Cai Yan held her arm.

Yang Yuyan nodded, and as soon as she turned around, several women who had been watching from a distance surrounded her with smiles.

"Yu Yan, you are so lucky!" Aunt Li said first, her eyes darting over Yang Yu Yan.

His gaze fell on her slightly trembling legs, and his smile grew even more meaningful. "Look at you, you can barely walk. You must have been through a lot last night, right?"

The women burst into laughter, their eyes filled with a friendly, ambiguous look.

Yang Yuyan blushed and scolded, "Aunt Li, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"I'm not making this up." Aunt Li took two steps closer. "Qin An only comes back once every six months. What else can you two young couple do but cherish each other?"

"Besides, he's a centurion now. Our village has only produced one officer like him in all these years. You're so proud of him, and we all share in the joy."

"That's right, that's right." The woman next to him chimed in, "Sister Yuyan, you must take good care of him so that he can fight in peace and make many merits. In the future, our village might benefit from it."

Yang Yuyan knew they meant no harm; they were just typical gossipy country women. So she smiled and replied, "It's not easy for him out there either. It's good that he's back safe and sound."

A thin woman squeezed to the front, her face showing worry: "Sister Yuyan, tell us, what's going on at the front? My husband was also conscripted, and we haven't heard from him since. I'm so worried..."

Upon hearing this, the women stopped laughing and gathered around to inquire.

In their families, some members had been drafted into the army, and they could only speculate about the war situation based on hearsay. It was rare to have someone like Yang Yuyan who was an "insider".

Yang Yuyan thought for a moment and then recounted the pleasant parts of what Qin An had told her the night before.

"We've won many battles at the front. My husband says this war won't drag on for too long. They should be back by the time the war is over. If we make a contribution, we might even get a minor official position."

Although she herself was unsure, she still wanted to reassure these women who were also waiting anxiously.

"That's good, that's good." The thin woman breathed a sigh of relief, and the wrinkles on her face smoothed out a bit. "As long as we win the battle, the person can come back."

Aunt Li patted Yang Yuyan's hand: "If you need anything at home in the future, just let me know. We're neighbors, so let's help each other out."

Yang Yuyan nodded, watching the women's departing figures, her heart filled with a myriad of emotions.

Once upon a time, because of her status as a young husband and an older wife with a younger husband, she was often pointed at and gossiped about in the village, becoming a laughing stock among all the peasant women.

But now that Qin An has become a centurion, these people's attitudes have completely changed; they are now more respectful and more affectionate.

She knew that all of this was earned for her by Qin An.

Yang Yuyan clenched her sleeves, secretly making up her mind: she must protect this family so that he could have no worries while he was away.

……

On an open ground outside Xingye County, more than 800 new recruits, carrying their packs, huddled together in twos and threes, their faces filled with fear and confusion.

Wang Hu, leading his warhorse, stood at the head of the column. Seeing Qin An approaching on horseback, he quickly went to greet him: "Captain, you're finally back!"

Qin An dismounted and tossed the reins to his guards behind him: "Is everything ready?"

"Everything's ready, just waiting for your command." Wang Hu replied, his gaze sweeping over Qin An's face before he chuckled, "Captain, you probably didn't get much sleep last night, did you?"

Qin An ignored him and looked past Wang Hu onto the group of new recruits behind him.

More than 800 people were crammed together, many of them clutching what they called weapons, which were nothing more than rusty iron pieces. Their eyes were unfocused, and they looked like a flock of lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

"Distribute the rattan armor and weapons, and throw away all the junk," Qin An ordered, frowning.

"Yes!" Wang Hu responded and left.

Although the logistics battalion was not as elite as the front-line troops, it had ample equipment.

Several large boxes of rattan armor were quickly carried over, and the guards shouted as they distributed them.

The new recruits frantically put on their armor, some even struggling to tie the ropes properly, only to be slapped on the back of the head by their bodyguards to correct them.

Qin An spotted Han Quan in the crowd at a glance. Han Quan was awkwardly struggling with a piece of armor, his face full of anxiety.

He strode over, quickly fastened the belt for him, and said in a low voice, "Come with me."

Han Quan was taken aback, then quickly followed.

Qin An led him to a cavalry squad not far away, and gestured with his chin: "The cavalry squad is short of men. Go report for duty. Go to the logistics officer for warhorses and weapons. They know what to give you."

Han Quan was both surprised and delighted.

The status of cavalry in the army is well known.

They received generous rations and good treatment, and their survival rate on the battlefield was far higher than that of infantry.

He thought he would be just like everyone else, only able to be an ordinary infantryman in the brigade, but he never expected that Qin An would directly put him into the cavalry.

"Brother Qin, this isn't quite right..." He rubbed his hands nervously, afraid of causing trouble for Qin An.

Qin An, on the other hand, seemed completely unconcerned.

After several battles, he had already tamed his cavalry, so what was a little care for his own men?

Moreover, he didn't really think there was anything wrong with nepotism.

If we don't favor our own people, are we going to let outsiders benefit instead?

Not to mention, he always remembered Han Quan's kindness.

Although I did indeed save his life back then.

Each issue should be addressed separately!

If it weren't for Han Quan's help in getting things done and giving me a higher starting point, I might not have been able to rise to the top so quickly and achieve what I have today.

A drop of kindness deserves a spring of gratitude in return!

Now that he has such power, his man doesn't mind using his authority for personal gain to repay Han Quan's kindness.

Seeing Han Quan's slightly embarrassed expression, Qin An patted him on the shoulder: "Stop talking nonsense and go report for duty. Train hard in the cavalry unit and get up to speed as soon as possible."

"Yes!" Han Quan nodded emphatically, turned around and strode towards the cavalry.

At the same time, I couldn't help but feel a myriad of emotions.

"I never imagined that the good deeds I planted back then would bear good fruit so quickly."

"Those people from the yamen said before that Qin An met a benefactor, but now it seems that he is the benefactor of my life."

At this moment, Han Quan couldn't help but feel a sense of fortune turning around.

But he wasn't jealous that his former little brother had climbed above him; on the contrary, he quite enjoyed being taken care of.

While Han Quan was lost in thought, the team quickly assembled.

Qin An mounted his horse, drew his iron spear, pointed it forward, and said in a low but clear voice, "Let's go!"

More than a hundred cavalrymen led the way, followed closely by eight hundred new recruits, heading straight for the front line.

……

During the march, Han Quan rode up to Qin An and winked at him.

"Brother Qin, you must be exhausted from last night. Judging from your appearance, you probably didn't sleep a wink. Why don't you stop and rest for a bit, or your legs will give way and you won't be able to ride the horse properly?"

He adapted quite quickly.

Furthermore, since Qin An had decided to take care of him, he decided to go all the way and promoted him to one of his personal guards.

Han Quan felt quite at ease with Qin An around, realizing that Qin An hadn't put on airs despite his improved status.

Qin An was also happy to have such an old acquaintance by his side, who could remind him not to forget his original aspirations.

Han Quan's familiar attitude not only didn't bother him, but he actually enjoyed it quite a bit, and immediately laughed and scolded him back.

"You don't know anything. After being cooped up in the army for half a year, you're finally seeing your wife again, how can you not be affectionate? When you go home and see your wife in the future, you'll probably be even more eager than me."

"Of course." Han Quan laughed heartily, then straightened his expression. "Seriously, what are the arrangements once we get to the front lines? Where are we headed this time?"

Clearly, although he appeared quite relaxed on the surface, he was still a little uneasy inside.

The dangers of the battlefield are well-documented, so I wanted to take this opportunity to learn more about them.

Qin An also stopped smiling, looked ahead and said in a deep voice, "Commander Luo is to be transferred to the front line, our cavalry will go with him."

Han Quan's smile froze: "The main battlefield? That should be much more dangerous than the logistics battalion, right?"

"It's dangerous, of course, but there are also many opportunities." Qin An turned his head to look at him. "If you stay in the logistics camp, you'll only be a centurion at best. But if you fight well on the front lines, it's not impossible to be promoted to general."

"Let me get this straight: do you want to stay in the relatively safe logistics battalion, or come with me to the front lines and fight?"

Han Quan fell silent.

He looked up at the winding queue ahead, then looked back at the direction of Xingye County.

Everything there was familiar to him, but now it was getting farther and farther away, more and more blurry.

A moment later, he turned back, his eyes now clear: "I'll go with you."

"Have you thought it through?"

"I've made up my mind." Han Quan took a deep breath. "The world is about to descend into chaos. Rather than being at the mercy of others in the future, I'd rather fight for a future now. Even if I die on the battlefield, it's better than living a cowardly life."

Upon hearing Han Quan's choice, Qin An's lips curled into a smile.

If the other party just wanted to go to the battlefield to coast through life, he wouldn't say much, but his care for Han Quan would probably be limited to that.

That means the two sides have different paths and cannot work together.

But since Han Quanneng has such courage, he doesn't mind giving the other party more chances.

If the other side can survive on the battlefield, or even achieve something, then they are one's natural allies.

"You've got guts. Now that you've made up your mind, don't slack off from now on. Train hard, or you won't even be able to hold your sword properly on the battlefield."

"Don't worry, although I, Han Quan, am not a fierce general, I am certainly not a coward."

The two exchanged a smile and urged their horses forward together.

The procession stretched out in a long line behind them, braving the rising north wind, slowly extending into the distance along the loess road!