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

After resting for ten days in Hanbei City, Zhang Xu's army finally arrived.

Flags fluttered, armor gleamed; though they had traveled a long distance, they still exuded an air of elite strength.

Qin An had already led his cavalry to line up outside the city and wait. When he saw Zhang Xu's figure appear at the front of the formation, he dismounted and quickly went to meet him.

"This humble general, Qin An, pays his respects to the commander!" Qin An clasped his hands in a salute, his voice booming.

Zhang Xu reined in his horse, jumped off, and grabbed Qin An's arm, his face beaming with joy: "Good lad, you finally made it! You've really made me proud this past month!"

He patted Qin An on the shoulder with considerable force, his admiration undisguised. "Ten cities, in just one month—even the veteran generals of the court might not be able to accomplish that!"

As Zhang Xu spoke, he looked Qin An up and down, unable to hide the joy in his eyes.

When he first put Qin An in command of the cavalry, he was filled with worry. He could tell that Qin An was a formidable general with exceptional martial prowess.

However, he was also a little unsure whether Qin An was capable of leading a cavalry force effectively.

But who would have thought that Qin An would bring such a big surprise to him?

He captured ten cities in a single month, making his army's achievements far surpass those of others.

This will greatly benefit his future career advancement.

This naturally made Zhang Xu very satisfied with Qin An no matter how he looked at him.

Qin An lowered his head slightly: "It is all thanks to the commander's skillful command; I only did my best."

"Don't be so modest," Zhang Xu laughed, then said seriously, "Let's go do the handover first, and then we'll have a good chat."

Accommodation had already been prepared in the city. Qin An handed the cavalry over to Luo Sheng for accommodation, and then followed Zhang Xu to the county government office.

Along the way, the soldiers from Daxing saluted Zhang Xu, but looked at Qin An with more curiosity and awe.

The name "Qin Shicheng" had already spread throughout the army with the news of victory, and now that they had met him in person, they naturally paid extra attention.

Qin An seemed oblivious to this, focusing intently on following behind Zhang Xu while secretly planning the next steps.

The handover proceeded smoothly, with Qin An's soldiers transferring the inventory of supplies, household registrations, and other records from the city one by one.

The officials sent by Zhang Xu carefully checked the information, and the whole process was orderly.

By the time everything was settled, it was already evening.

That evening, a celebratory banquet was held inside the county government office. The tents were brightly lit and filled with the aroma of wine.

Zhang Xu sat in the main seat, with Luo Kai, Zhou Lang, and others on his left and right sides.

Qin An, as the greatest contributor to this operation, was assigned to work under Zhang Xu.

"Come, let this first cup of wine be a toast to Qin An!" Zhang Xu raised his cup, looked around at everyone, and said, "If it weren't for his capture of ten cities in succession, we wouldn't have achieved so many military exploits!"

Everyone raised their glasses, their eyes all turning to Qin An.

Luo Kai then joked with Qin An, "Commander Qin is quite the star in our army now. The name 'Qin Ten Cities' is probably going to spread all the way to the capital!"

"Qin Shicheng?" Qin An frowned slightly. Although the title was flattering, it also carried a hint of arrogance, which was not what he wanted.

He rose, raised his cup, and said loudly to the crowd, "You flatter me. I am able to achieve what I have today entirely thanks to the trust of the commander and the bravery of my brothers."

"This cup of wine should be offered to our fallen brothers, to our commander, and to all our comrades!"

After saying that, he drank the wine in one gulp, his posture neither humble nor arrogant.

Seeing this, Zhang Xu's smile deepened: "Well done, Qin An! He's not arrogant despite his achievements; truly remarkable!"

He put down his wine glass, then changed the subject, "But speaking of which, your bloodthirstiness is a bit too much. You left very few survivors in ten cities along the way. It's a bit too much..."

Speaking of this matter, Zhang Xu also felt a bit of a headache.

While good news kept coming in, Qin An also brought him a lot of trouble.

The most important point is that Qin An did not leave any prisoners behind on his journey.

This makes it easy for people to criticize.

Qin An knew what Zhang Xu wanted to say and said frankly, "This humble general dares not hide anything. My cavalry is small in number. If we leave prisoners behind, it may cause trouble. Moreover, the Baiji people are fickle. Rather than raising a tiger to cause trouble, it is better to cut the weeds at the root and eliminate future problems."

He didn't care much about killing him.

He had no liking for Bai Jiren.

Through his understanding over this period of time, he was completely certain that the Baiji people were a group of arrogant, fickle, and petty people.

The Baiji people had not treated the Daxing people well after Daxing's two previous failed eastern expeditions.

Countless soldiers suffered inhumane treatment.

Since he could kill to become stronger, he naturally wouldn't hold back at all.

Upon hearing Qin An's explanation, Zhou Lang sneered from the side: "Commander Qin is indeed decisive in killing, but such actions are somewhat lacking in benevolence."

Although Qin An's integrity and incorruptibility benefited him as well, Zhou Lang still harbored considerable resentment towards him.

He admitted that Qin An was indeed a formidable character.

However, Qin An's presence undoubtedly weakened his power.

Now, Luo Kai, who has been parachuted in, has become an equal to Qin An, a veteran captain, in a short period of time, thanks to his trump card.

Now that he had a chance to subtly influence Qin An, he naturally wouldn't miss it.

"Commander Zhou, you are mistaken." Qin An looked at Zhou Lang with sharp eyes. "On the battlefield, to be merciful to the enemy is to be cruel to our brothers. I would rather bear the infamy of killing than see my brothers lose their lives because of my womanly compassion!"

Qin An couldn't say whether he liked or disliked Zhou Lang, and his reaction to Zhou Lang's barbed words was quite indifferent.

A hush fell over the tent. Zhang Xu waved his hand, "Alright, there's no need to discuss this further. Qin An was only thinking of the bigger picture. Come, let's drink!"

The banquet continued, and the atmosphere gradually became more lively.

Everyone toasted Qin An, their words mostly filled with flattery.

Qin An went through the motions of socializing, but his mind was always on the important matter at hand.

After several rounds of drinks, seeing that the time was right, he stood up and said to Zhang Xu, "Commander, I have a question to ask you."

Zhang Xu put down his wine glass: "Please speak freely."

"What are the next plans for my cavalry?" Qin An asked intently. "The brothers are in high spirits and eager to lead the army again, capturing more cities!"

He looked eager for battle, as if he wanted to take this opportunity to make more contributions.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xu's face showed a mixture of joy and worry.

What's gratifying is that Qin An is highly motivated and a rare and formidable general.

The worry is that this kid is too bloodthirsty. If he continues to fight like this, it might provoke the Baiji people to fight to the death, which would only increase casualties.

But Zhang Xu, having amassed such a great deal of military merit, no longer wanted to fight.

Qin An's enthusiasm put him in a bit of a dilemma!