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

After an unknown amount of time, just as Qin An was lost in thought, the tent flap was lifted, and Luo Kai and several generals came out.

One of the middle-aged generals, a man of imposing stature and resolute face, was Zhang Xu.

"Captain Luo, who is this man under your command?" Zhang Xu's gaze fell on Qin An, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Qin An was tall and stood out from the crowd like a crane among chickens.

"Commander, this is my subordinate Sima Qin'an," Luo Kai quickly introduced.

Upon hearing the name Qin An, Zhang Xu immediately became interested. He looked Qin An up and down and laughed, "What a strong man! Commander Luo, you've been hiding a good seedling."

The story of Qin An leading 500 men to a great victory over Bai Ji's more than 2,000 men has already spread.

Although the enemy was just a group of defeated soldiers, such a victory with fewer troops was still a great achievement.

This made their entire 10,000-strong team feel very proud.

As a commander of ten thousand men, Zhang Xu had naturally heard of Qin An's name.

However, Qin An's position is still too low.

The Sima, who commanded five hundred men, had twenty under his command.

In addition to other positions, his ranking was even lower, and he wasn't even qualified to enter his tent to attend military meetings.

Zhang Xu only paid a little attention to it and didn't care much about it.

Now that he has seen Qin An in person and he looks every bit the part of a fierce general, he is very satisfied.

Luo Kai brought Qin An over just to make him more familiar with the area and help him expand his network. He never intended to let Qin An leave his command at this time.

Now, seeing how much Zhang Xu admires Qin An, he felt a pang of anxiety, fearing that Zhang Xu was so eager to recruit Qin An that he might transfer him away.

He quickly put on a smiling face: "It's good fortune for this young man to be valued by the commander, but Qin An is still young and immature, and he needs more training."

Zhang Xu understood his little scheme perfectly well.

She glared at Luo Kai with annoyance: "Look at you, so stingy! Just because he's under your command doesn't mean he's not under my command either!"

He then ignored Luo Kai and patted Qin An on the shoulder with a smile: "Young man, I've heard of you. You wiped out the defeated Baekje soldiers and won against overwhelming odds. You're brave and resourceful. Keep up the good work, your future is limitless."

Qin An felt the power from Zhang Xu's palm and quickly bowed, saying, "Commander Xie is too kind. I was just doing my duty."

"Not bad, not arrogant or impatient." Zhang Xu nodded approvingly, then said to Luo Kaidao, "You can get lost now, let's go check on how the siege equipment is ready."

Watching Zhang Xu and Luo Kai walk away, Qin An breathed a sigh of relief.

He could sense that Zhang Xu meant him no harm, but rather showed him some admiration.

This might be good news for him.

Once Zhang Xu was completely out of sight, Luo Kai finally relaxed and a smile appeared on his face.

"How is it, sir?" Qin An stepped forward and asked, "Is there some good news?"

Luo Kai patted his arm and laughed, "It's good news. We weren't assigned to the first wave of the siege."

Qin An was stunned for a moment, then he understood.

In siege warfare, the first wave of troops to scale the walls often suffers the heaviest casualties.

They practically used their blood and flesh to fill the moat, ram the city gates, and build ladders; of the ten who survived, only three or four remained.

"Why didn't you get one?" Qin An pressed.

"When General Yuwen summoned the generals to discuss the matter, no one wanted to be the first to step forward," Luo Kai explained. "In the end, there was no other way but to decide by drawing lots. The commander of ten thousand was lucky and drew the position of reinforcement. He will stay behind and watch until the front forces open an opening, then go up to provide support."

Qin An breathed a sigh of relief, but he was not completely at ease.

Even as reinforcements, as long as they participate in the siege, there will inevitably be sword fights.

He looked up at the walls of Pyeongyang Castle and could vaguely see Baekje soldiers moving back and forth. The banners on the walls fluttered in the wind, as if silently proclaiming their determination to resist.

……

Three days later, horns sounded in unison throughout the camp, making everyone's eardrums vibrate.

The siege equipment was all ready, with hundreds of siege ladders neatly arranged in front of the battle lines and dozens of battering rams poised to fire.

Countless catapults were hidden in the rear, with only their dark muzzles visible.

Qin An's unit was positioned on the flank of the central army. Standing in the middle of the army, he could clearly see the entire battlefield.

The walls of Pyeongyang Fortress stretched across the plain like a black dragon, and the walls were densely packed with Baekje soldiers. Archers were drawing their bows and nocking arrows, and catapults were in place, clearly ready for a desperate battle.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The war drums sounded, deep and powerful, as if striking the hearts of everyone.

At Yuwen Shu's command, two massive armies of ten thousand men surged toward the city wall like a tidal wave, their battle cries shaking the heavens and the earth.

Although the army mobilized from Daxing this time numbered as many as 200,000.

But with so many people, it's impossible for them all to rush in at once; that would be impossible.

Twenty thousand people is already the limit.

This is why Yuwen Shu uses a lottery system to assign manpower.

As Daxing took action and began a frontal assault on the city, Baiji did not dare to be negligent.

"Release the arrows!"

On the city wall, General Bai Ji gave the order, and countless arrows fell like raindrops, weaving a net of death in the air.

The Daxing soldiers at the forefront were hit by arrows and fell to the ground, their screams echoing one after another.

But the soldiers behind them showed no fear, continuing their advance over the corpses of their comrades.

"Build a ladder!"

With a shout, hundreds of siege ladders were erected on the city wall, and soldiers climbed upwards like ants.

The Baekje soldiers on the city wall fought desperately, slashing with swords, stabbing with spears, pounding with stones, and pouring boiling oil on them. Daehyeong soldiers kept falling from the ladders and were smashed to pieces.

Upon witnessing this scene, Qin An clenched his fists tightly.

Although he had participated in many battles, he had never seen such a horrific scene.

Blood stained the moat, corpses piled up like mountains, and the air was thick with the stench of blood, making one want to vomit.

I originally thought that my strength was already quite good, and that I was able to protect myself on the battlefield.

But after witnessing a war of this scale, he realized how naive he had been.

On such a battlefield, with my current strength, I am nothing at all.

No matter how powerful one is, it is absolutely impossible to withstand a barrage of arrows.

Moreover, when attacking a city, there is nowhere to borrow strength, and one cannot fully utilize one's skills.

If you let yourself get caught, you might get infected at any time.

It can be said that in siege warfare, while individual combat strength is important, luck is also crucial.

"This is a complete meat grinder! I don't know if I could handle it if it were my turn."

The confidence Qin An had built up on the battlefield was instantly and violently shaken by the brutal scene of the siege battle before him!