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

After taking stock of his belongings, Qin An smiled at Wang Hu and Luo Sheng beside him and said, "Looks like we'll have to 'borrow' some men from those centurions."

Luo Sheng was somewhat worried: "What if they're not happy about it?"

"They have no choice but to agree." A glint of shrewdness flashed in Qin An's eyes. "But we can't just take it by force; we have to be strategic."

He had some good wine and meat prepared, and then, along with Wang Hu and Luo Sheng, went to the camp of Zhang Qianfuzhang, the most senior officer.

"Brother Zhang, I am Qin An, and I have come to pay my respects." Qin An greeted him with a cupped hand and a smile as soon as he entered the door, his attitude extremely respectful.

Commander Zhang was wiping his weapons when he saw Qin An arrive. He gave a curt snort: "What brings you here, Commander Qin?"

"I wouldn't presume to offer guidance," Qin An said, putting down the wine and meat he had brought. "I'm new here and don't understand many things. I hope Brother Zhang can give me some pointers. The captain asked me to form a cavalry battalion, but we don't have enough men. I was wondering if you could spare some for me?"

He adopted a humble attitude and presented a gift, which softened Zhang Qianfuchang's expression.

He knew that Qin An was a favorite of Luo Kai, so there was no need to offend him.

More importantly, Qin An's initiative to ask him for people was a perfect opportunity for him to fill positions with his own and expand his influence.

He certainly wouldn't miss such a good opportunity.

"Sir Qin, you're too kind. We're all here to serve Daxing. Don't worry about lending us anything. How about this, I'll pick twenty capable men for you. What do you think?"

"Thank you so much, Brother Zhang!" Qin An was overjoyed and quickly expressed his gratitude.

With Zhang, the commander of a thousand men, setting an example, the other four commanders could not refuse.

Qin An used the same method to "borrow" twenty or thirty people from each of them, finally gathering more than five hundred people.

Most of these men were experienced veterans, considered confidants of the centurions, but Qin An didn't care.

For him, as long as he could follow orders and achieve his goals, that was enough.

As for those trivial matters of power struggles, he never even considered paying attention to them.

As long as I can lead this team to keep winning, no matter how loyal or trusted someone is, they can still be used by me.

With manpower secured, the problem of warhorses became the next issue.

There are more than 500 people, but currently only more than 300 warhorses are available, and more than 100 are still needed.

Qin An had no choice but to go to Luo Kai.

Luo Kai was worried about the supply of provisions when he heard Qin An's request. He frowned and said, "The front lines are short of warhorses right now, so I'm in a difficult position too."

"My lord, cavalry can't function without horses," Qin An said urgently. "Without enough warhorses, this cavalry battalion is just a decoration."

Luo Kai pondered for a long time before saying, "Alright, I'll try to find some connections and see if I can get some more warhorses. Don't get your hopes up too high; getting a few dozen would be good enough."

Over the next few days, Luo Kai pulled strings and begged everyone he could, and finally managed to get 150 warhorses from the quartermaster department.

Although they still couldn't manage one person and one horse, it's much better than before.

With personnel and warhorses all in place, Qin An immediately began training.

He divided the more than 500 men into five squads, with each of the original two cavalry captains leading one squad.

Let Luo Sheng and Wang Hu each lead a team.

The captaincy of the last team will remain vacant for the time being.

"The last captain's position," Qin An announced loudly from the training field, "I'm not designating anyone. Whoever performs best in the upcoming training sessions will be the captain!"

These words immediately caused an uproar on the training field. Everyone was giving it their all, eager to compete for that position.

Qin An's training methods were extremely rigorous, demanding perfection in everything from the most basic horsemanship and marksmanship to the coordinated combat of cavalry.

They get up to train before dawn every day and don't rest until dark. Many people are so tired that they collapse, but when they think of the captain's position, they grit their teeth and get up again.

Qin An personally demonstrated the movements and patiently provided guidance. He praised the soldiers who performed well and reprimanded those who were lazy without hesitation.

He would also organize small competitions from time to time, with the winners getting to eat meat and the losers having to practice more.

Under his tutelage, the cavalry battalion's combat effectiveness improved rapidly, and the originally disorganized unit became increasingly cohesive.

Even the soldiers "borrowed" from other centurions gradually came to accept Qin An, the young Sima.

Half a month later, Qin An looked at the well-organized cavalry on the training ground and nodded in satisfaction.

Although it is no match for Daxing's elite troops, it already possesses combat capabilities.

Qin An was already quite satisfied with what he had accomplished in such a short time.

"Wang Hu," Qin An called out, "go and inform all the teams that the final assessment will be held tomorrow to select the last captain!"

"yes!"

Just as Qin An was preparing to conduct the assessment and select the last captain, Luo Kai suddenly summoned all the officers.

The atmosphere inside the council chamber was somewhat somber.

Luo Kai held a document, his face grim: "We've been given a new mission, to wipe out the Baekje defeated troops in the surrounding area."

"Random soldiers?" A centurion frowned. "What's the point of clearing out those scattered soldiers? Just send a few men; why make such a fuss?"

"It's not that simple!" Luo Kai shook his head. "Although these defeated soldiers are not organized, there are quite a few of them, several thousand in total. They hide in the mountains and forests, and from time to time they come out to harass our supply lines, attack small groups of troops, and even dare to counterattack the towns we occupy. They have become a major threat."

Everyone fell silent.

Sweeping away defeated soldiers may seem simple, but it's actually quite troublesome. These people are familiar with the terrain and will run away if they can't be defeated, so the manpower and resources required to completely wipe them out are considerable.

"Who's willing to go?" Luo Kai asked, looking at the crowd.

The five centurions all lowered their heads, pretending not to hear.

Suppressing the fleeing soldiers is a thankless and arduous task. Even if successful, the military achievements are limited, and no one wants to take on this hot potato.

For a moment, the atmosphere inside the tent became somewhat somber.

Upon seeing this, Luo Kai's expression instantly darkened.

Although he knew that his arrival as a captain would inevitably cause resentment among his subordinates and make him difficult to command.

But I never expected that my first task after taking office would be so disrespectful to me.

Just then, Qin An stepped forward: "My lord, this humble general is willing to go!"

All eyes were on Qin An. A hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of the five centurions, which then turned into relief and schadenfreude.

"Commander Qin, have you thought this through?" Luo Kai looked at him. "These defeated soldiers are not like regular troops; they are very troublesome."

"This subordinate has made up his mind," Qin An said in a deep voice. "Cavalry is highly mobile and is best suited for pursuing and eliminating fleeing soldiers. Besides, my five hundred cavalrymen have only been formed recently and need to be trained in actual combat."

The comfortable training period had already made Qin An a little restless.

Now that he has the opportunity to enhance his own strength, Qin An will not miss this chance!