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

Seeing himself defeated by Qin An, Song Gang was indeed unwilling to accept it.

If he could, he would love to rush up and fight Qin An.

However, the difference in strength between the two sides was simply too obvious.

No matter how much they struggle, they will only bring shame upon themselves.

"Commander Song, think of your brothers!" Qin An shouted again, waving his long staff and forcing back the surrounding cavalry.

"I..." Song Gang opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but saw that Qin An's cavalry had already circled around behind him, forming an encirclement.

He had less than half of his soldiers left, all wounded and demoralized, clearly beyond saving.

"I surrender!" Song Gang finally shouted through gritted teeth, his voice filled with resentment.

Upon hearing the word "surrender," Qin An immediately ordered, "Stop!"

The cavalrymen halted their attack, reined in their horses, and watched Song Gang's remaining troops warily.

Although they were all injured, their faces were filled with the joy of victory.

On the high platform, Zhang Xu stood up and announced loudly, "The competition is over! Qin An wins! From this day forward, Qin An will serve as the commander of my 800-man cavalry unit!"

"Good!" Luo Kai was the first to applaud, and the other generals who supported Qin An also cheered.

The cavalrymen of Qin'an cheered even louder, their voices deafening.

Song Gang lowered his head and silently led his remaining troops to the side, his face ashen, not daring to look at anyone.

Zhou Lang sighed, stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, wanting to say something comforting, but he didn't know where to begin.

Qin An dismounted and walked to the foot of the platform, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "This humble general, Qin An, thanks Commander Wan for his trust! I will certainly live up to your expectations and lead the cavalry to achieve great deeds!"

Though outwardly calm, Qin An was inwardly filled with indescribable excitement.

Although he had previously commanded a cavalry battalion of 500, the two were completely incomparable.

The previous cavalry battalion was only temporarily formed and was not officially recognized; otherwise, it would not have been sent to attack the city.

But now, he commands eight hundred regular cavalry, which can prevent many of the bloody, meat-grinding siege battles that happened before, saving his men from dying in vain.

Seeing Qin An's high spirits, Zhang Xu nodded in satisfaction: "Good! Qin An, I believe in you! Go and organize the cavalry now. The troops will set off in half an hour!"

"Yes!" Qin An bowed and replied, his heart filled with excitement.

Although his position was not promoted, becoming the cavalry commander had elevated his status further.

In this way, we are one step closer to our goal.

An hour later, the army had assembled outside Pingxiang City.

Eight hundred cavalrymen were ready to go.

Qin An, clad in black armor, rode a magnificent white horse, wielding an iron spear, exuding an imposing aura.

The cavalrymen were all in high spirits, their warhorses neighing, their momentum unstoppable.

……

Three days after leaving Pingxiang City, Qin An's eight hundred cavalrymen had recovered most of their strength during the rest and recuperation along the way.

These days, he has been leading his troops to practice formations and familiarize themselves with the newly acquired warhorses. The initially somewhat awkward coordination has gradually become more tacit, and when the horses' hooves tread the ground, they even exude a certain uniform and imposing power.

That afternoon, a guard rode up from the rear, bringing Zhang Xu's military orders.

Qin An reined in his horse, unfolded the military order, and a glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes.

"Commander Qin An has ordered my troops to capture Wugu City." He handed the order to Luo Sheng beside him and said in a deep voice, "Wugu City is located a hundred li southeast of Pingxiang City. It is an earthen city with a garrison of no more than a thousand men."

Upon receiving the order to seize the city, Qin An remained completely calm.

Due to its terrain, Goryeo did not have many large cities; most of its other cities were small earthen fortresses.

These garrison troops in the earthen city were few in number, ranging from a few hundred to a thousand. Coupled with the overwhelming momentum of Daxing's great victory, the people in the territory were filled with fear.

Even with only eight hundred men, it wouldn't be difficult for him to conquer a small city.

Qin An wasn't the only one who thought this way. After reading the military order, Luo Sheng laughed and said, "A thousand defenders? With our current strength, taking this city will be a piece of cake."

Everyone else around was also eager to try, wishing they could immediately go and seize Wugu City.

Qin An shook his head at their idea of ​​a direct assault: "We must not be careless. Cavalry are good at raids but not at sieges. If we force our way into a city, even if we succeed, we will lose a lot of men, which would be a losing proposition."

He turned his horse around, looked at the rolling hills in the distance, and pondered, "Since Wugu City is an earthen city, its walls must not be high, and its defenses are mostly focused on the front. Let's go around to its rear, catch it off guard, and seize the gate in one fell swoop."

Luo Sheng's eyes lit up: "A flanking attack? That's a great idea! The Baiji people just lost Pingxiang City, so they must think we'll advance head-on, and their rear defenses will definitely be lax."

"There's no time to lose, set off immediately," Qin An ordered. "Pass down the order: the entire army will switch to fast horses, travel by night and hide by day, avoiding villages and towns along the way, and circle around to the rear of Wugu City. If you encounter any Bai Ji people on the way, kill them without mercy, and absolutely do not reveal your whereabouts!"

"yes!"

The eight hundred cavalrymen immediately changed into their fastest warhorses and, under the cover of dusk, galloped toward the rear of Wugu City.

The horses' hooves were wrapped in burlap, so they made almost no sound while marching, only stirring up a few fallen leaves when passing through the woods.

Occasionally, Baiji farmers would return home late, but before they could react, they were swiftly killed by the cavalry, and their bodies were dragged into the dense forest and buried.

Qin An knew that to ensure the success of the sneak attack, absolute certainty was required; any hint of trouble could ruin the entire plan.

Two days later, in the early morning, Qin An's cavalry arrived at a dense forest behind Wugu City.

Through the gaps in the branches and leaves, you can see the earthen-yellow city in the distance. The city walls are only about ten feet high, and a few guards stand sparsely at the city gate, yawning and chatting.

"The defenses are indeed lax," Luo Sheng muttered. "There isn't even a decent sentry post at the city gate."

Qin An observed carefully for a moment: "There are ten guards at the city gate, and the city gate is wide open, as if they are waiting for someone. It seems that they are completely unprepared for the rear."

He glanced at the sky; the east was already showing the first hint of dawn. "Let's wait another hour, until there are more people at the city gate, then we'll make our move. Too many people will only make things more chaotic."

An hour later, the city gate of Wugu City gradually became lively.

Several merchants carrying loads on their shoulders wanted to enter the city, but the soldiers guarding the city lazily inspected them. There were also several farmers driving cattle and sheep, seemingly about to leave the city to graze.

"Now!" A cold glint flashed in Qin An's eyes as he abruptly drew his iron spear. "Kill!"

"kill!"

Eight hundred cavalrymen, like lurking tigers, suddenly burst out of the dense forest, their hoofbeats shattering the morning's tranquility.

They didn't shout, but charged silently, moving with lightning speed, heading straight for the city gate.

The Baiji garrison at the city gate initially thought it was their own army, but when they saw the familiar Daxing army flag, they suddenly realized what was happening and were terrified.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"Close the city gates! Close the city gates!"