At 100 years old, he joined the army in place of his granddaughter, and became a national war god.

As dawn broke, sunlight pierced through the smoke of the night's battle, casting its rays onto the bluestone streets of Cangzhou, making the bloodstains and shards of ice on the ground appear glaringly bright.

The city gates were wide open, and the drawbridge had already been lowered.

On the city wall, the Azure Dragon Banner of the Great Qian Dynasty fluttered in the morning breeze, its red background and golden dragon shining brightly in the sunlight.

That was the first time in several years that the flag of the Great Qian Dynasty had been raised in Cangzhou City.

The city gate was packed with a dense crowd.

They were not soldiers, but ordinary people.

The elderly, women, children, and young adults, with their families, flocked in from all directions.

Although they had just experienced the horror of a major battle last night.

But at this moment, there is more excitement, anticipation, and the joy of surviving a disaster.

"General Su is about to enter the city!"

"Really? General Su has really entered the city?"

"I heard it was he who led his troops down from the mountain and opened the city gates!"

"Divine soldiers have descended from the heavens! General Su is a divine soldier who has descended from the heavens!"

"If it weren't for him, we would never have been able to escape the rule of the Northern Barbarians in our lifetime..."

The crowd stirred, and everyone stood on tiptoe, craning their necks to look towards the direction outside the city gate.

In the distance, a white horse slowly approached.

The sound of the Akhal-Teke horse's hooves was crisp and clear. On its back sat an old man with white hair and a hunched back.

He wore a suit of armor soaked in blood, a long sword at his waist, his hair and beard were all white, and his face was covered with wrinkles that looked as if they had been carved by a knife.

Behind him followed a group of generals including You Zhongyi, Gu Changfeng, and Zhao Tieniu, and further back, a vast army of Daqian soldiers.

"General Su has arrived!"

Someone in the crowd was the first to shout out.

Then, the whole street erupted in excitement.

"General Su is truly awe-inspiring!"

"The Great General Who Guards the North is mighty!"

"Long live the Great Qianlong Emperor!"

The sound waves were like a mountain roaring and a tsunami crashing, echoing back and forth between the buildings on both sides of the street.

Some people knelt down and kowtowed, some clasped their hands in prayer, some had tears in their eyes, and some held their children high above their heads so that the children could see them more clearly.

"Grandpa, is that white-haired old man General Su?"

A five- or six-year-old boy, riding on his father's shoulders, asked in a childish voice.

"Yes! That's him!"

"It was him who drove the Northern Barbarians away!"

"Grandpa Su is amazing!" the boy clapped his hands. "When I grow up, I want to join the army to protect my country."

"General Su, you are a great benefactor to the people of Cangzhou! My son was captured by the Northern Di people three years ago and forced into hard labor. He never came back... This old woman thought she would never see this day again... But you've come, you've finally come..."

Tears streamed down her face, and several elderly people with equally white hair behind her knelt down and wept together.

Su Mu pulled on the reins, and the Akhal-Teke horse stopped.

He looked at the elderly people kneeling in the middle of the road, at their tearful faces, and felt an indescribable pang of sorrow welling up in his heart.

He dismounted and walked up to the old woman, his withered hand supporting her arm.

"Get up, the ground is cold."

"From this day forward, Cangzhou City will once again belong to the Great Qian Dynasty."

He paused, his voice becoming even deeper.

"I assure you, from this day forward, the Northern Barbarians will never dare to set foot in Cangzhou City again."

"good!"

"General Su is truly awe-inspiring!"

The people cheered again.

The Third Prince, Xiao Jingyu, stood on his horse at the city gate, watching this scene unfold.

Behind him, Zhou Huchen stood in formation with a troop of cavalry, their armor gleaming.

Xiao Jingyu's eyes were slightly red.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and murmured softly.

"Su Mu... truly the God of War of our Great Qian."

Zhou Huchen, standing behind him, grinned and said, "Your Highness, I've been following Elder Su for so long, and I've always felt this way. Elder Su is the God of War of our Great Qian."

"In this humble general's life, to be able to fight alongside such a general, even dying would be worthwhile."

Xiao Jingyu turned to look at him, smiled, and said nothing.

Su Mu remounted his horse and, surrounded by the people, slowly walked along the main street toward the government office in the city center.

At each intersection, people would kneel down and kowtow.

At each shop we passed, the shopkeeper and his assistants would greet us at the door.

The children chased after the white horse, shouting "Grandpa Su" as they ran.

"General Su, how old are you this year?" A bold young man squeezed to the front of the horse and asked, looking up at the horse.

"I'm a hundred years old." Su Mu smiled.

"At a hundred years old, you can still fight on the battlefield? You're truly a god descended to earth!"

At one hundred years old, he joined the army in place of his granddaughter.

He rose from a cook to the General Who Guards the North, recovering lost territory and killing enemy generals.

In the eyes of ordinary people, such a person is like a god!

……

In front of the Cangzhou Prefectural Government Office.

The gates of the government office have been opened.

Those officials of the Great Qian Dynasty who had been controlled by the Northern Di people for several years stood on the steps in their official robes, forming a line to welcome them.

The leader was Li Shu, the prefect of Cangzhou.

Seeing Su Mu riding over, Li Shu quickly walked down the steps, clasped his hands together, and bowed deeply, his voice trembling with tears.

"Your humble servant, Li Shu, Prefect of Cangzhou, respectfully welcomes the Third Prince and General Su!"

The officials behind him knelt down in unison, shouting, "Welcome, Your Highness, and General Su!"

Xiao Jingyu dismounted, walked to Li Shu, helped him up, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Lord Li, get up, you've suffered."

"However, the greatest contributors today are General Su and all the soldiers of our Great Qian!"

Li Shu straightened up, wiped away his tears, and choked out, "Thank you, General Su, for being over a hundred years old and still taking up arms to fight and recover lost territory for our Great Qian... Your humble servant..."

He couldn't continue.

Su Mu waved his hand and walked towards the government office.

"Let's go inside and talk."

The Third Prince Xiao Jingyu, Zhou Huchen, You Zhongyi, and others followed behind, filing in one after another.

……

In the main hall of the government office, tea and snacks were laid out on the table.

Su Mu did not sit down, but walked straight to the map of the northern border hanging on the wall.

Three of the five northern states have been recovered.

Only Yingzhou and Mozhou remain.

Xiao Jingyu quickly stepped forward, pointed to the map and said, "General Su, once the news of Tuoba Han and Tuoba Lie's capture spreads, the garrison troops of Yingzhou and Mozhou will surely be in a state of panic. It is the perfect time to take them down."

Su Mu nodded: "What Your Highness says is absolutely right."

He turned around and looked at Zhou Huchen.

"Commander Zhou".

"Your subordinate is here!"

"Immediately muster 30,000 troops, equipped with sufficient provisions, arrows, and siege weapons, and march straight to Mozhou!"

"With Tuoba Han and Tuoba Lie captured, the garrison in Mozhou is leaderless, making it the perfect time to take this city."

Zhou Huchen clasped his hands in a fist salute and said in a loud voice, "This humble general obeys!"

After saying that, he turned and strode out of the main hall.

Su Mu then looked at You Zhongyi.

"Zhongyi, take a troop of fast horses and immediately head to Yingzhou. Order Qin Hao to launch an immediate attack on Yingzhou!"

You Zhongyi clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes, sir!"

Xiao Jingyu stood aside, watching Su Mu issue orders one by one, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

If it were anyone else, they would have been overjoyed and thrown a grand celebration banquet after achieving such a great feat as capturing Cangzhou and taking away the enemy commander.

But Su Mu didn't.

Without even taking a sip of water, he began planning the next phase of the attack.

"General Su," Xiao Jingyu walked over and said in a low voice, "aren't you going to rest? You didn't sleep a wink last night, and today..."

Su Mu waved his hand, keeping his eyes fixed on the map.

"Your Highness, the war is not over yet, and I cannot sleep."

"Without taking Yingzhou and Mozhou, the northern border cannot be considered fully recovered."

Looking at his hunched back and his full head of white hair, Xiao Jingyu felt an indescribable respect welling up in his heart.

"Lord Li, I'm entrusting you with the important task of reorganizing Cangzhou City."

"I am good at fighting, but I am powerless to do anything about this reorganization."

Li Shu clasped his hands in a fist and nodded solemnly.

"General Su, rest assured, I will lead the people of the prefecture to handle the important matters of Cangzhou. You can rest assured and get some rest."

Su Mu smiled.

"it is good."

He turned around and continued staring at the map.

"At most half a month," he murmured to himself, his voice filled with long-lost joy and excitement, "the northern border will be fully restored, and then this old man will be able to go to the capital to see the snow."