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

At dusk, in the Daqian military camp outside Qinghe County.

Inside the central command tent, the lights were on.

Zhou Huchen stood in the center of the tent, vividly recounting everything that had happened the previous night.

The Northern Di cavalry launched a night attack, and the supply camp was in dire need of supplies. How did the white-haired Su Mu defeat Chi Lie with three strikes? How did he single-handedly ride his white horse to chase down hundreds of cavalrymen? How did he behead two generals amidst thousands of troops?

The tent was completely silent.

The soldiers, who had just returned from the front lines, were stunned. Their eyes widened like saucers, and their mouths were agape, unable to close for a long time.

Xu Shigui sat in the main seat, his hand holding the teacup suspended in mid-air, motionless.

Qin Hao stood to the side, his expression shifting from shock to excitement, and then from excitement to barely suppressed exhilaration.

"General Qin, Commander-in-Chief!" Zhou Huchen said, then knelt on one knee, clasped his hands, and proclaimed loudly, "If it weren't for Old Master Su's miraculous intervention, our supplies and provisions would have been burned to ashes by the Northern Barbarians long ago. I dare to request that you, General Qin, report this extraordinary feat to the court and reward Old Master Su!"

A chorus of agreement erupted from inside the tent.

"Yes! They deserve an award!"

"It would be an injustice not to reward such merit!"

Qin Hao didn't rush to speak.

He turned his head, glanced at the generals in the tent, and then at Xu Shigui, having already made up his mind.

He cleared his throat and said in a deep voice, "General, I have something to report."

Xu Shigui put down his teacup and lazily raised his chin: "Speak."

"I have been puzzled by the sudden withdrawal of the Northern Di army today." Qin Hao paused, his gaze sweeping over the generals in the tent. "Now, after listening to Commandant Zhou's words, I have suddenly realized that the Northern Di's frontal attack was merely to lure out our main force so that Chi Lie could take the opportunity to burn our supplies."

He looked at Xu Shigui and continued, "With Chi Lie killed and the attempt to burn the grain supplies failing, Tuoba Han had no backup plan and was forced to withdraw his troops!"

"In other words, it's equivalent to Old Master Su single-handedly repelling tens of thousands of Northern Di troops!"

The tent erupted in clamor, with everyone agreeing.

"The general is right! That's exactly it!"

"The old man saved the lives of our entire army!"

"Such merit certainly deserves recognition!"

Qin Hao clasped his hands in a respectful gesture: "General, such a great achievement must be reported to the imperial court, and we earnestly request His Majesty's commendation!"

The generals in the tent all clasped their hands in greeting: "Please, General, report this to the imperial court and commend Master Su!"

The shouts grew louder and louder.

Xu Shigui held the teacup, slowly blew away the foam, and took a leisurely sip.

Then he put down his teacup and said:

"What's so commendable about this?"

These words immediately sent a chill down everyone's spine.

"He was a soldier in the cookhouse; guarding the grain supplies was his duty. Should I, the commander-in-chief, report this to the emperor for commendation for doing his job well?"

"Does that mean everyone has to report to the capital how many buckets of water they carried and how many loads of firewood they chopped?"

He raised his head, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.

"That's utterly ridiculous."

Zhou Huchen's face darkened instantly.

He stood up abruptly, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and he was filled with anger, wanting to step forward and demand an explanation.

His colleague quickly grabbed his sleeve, tugged at it twice, and whispered, "Brother Zhou, don't do anything reckless! Don't do anything reckless!"

Zhou Huchen gritted his teeth, his cheeks puffed out, and forced himself to swallow his anger.

Xu Shigui acted as if he hadn't seen it, then changed the subject, his gaze falling on Qin Hao, and his tone becoming sharp.

"You just said that Su Mu rode that Akhal-Teke horse?"

"How dare you!" Xu Shigui slammed his hand on the table, splashing tea everywhere. "That's a treasure I, the general, am going to present to His Majesty! How can I allow a mere cook to lay a finger on it?"

Upon hearing this, the faces of the generals in the tent grew increasingly grim.

Xu Shigui stood up, put his hands behind his back, paced around the tent a couple of times, and his tone became sarcastic.

"Furthermore, have you considered what it means to petition the imperial court to reward a centenarian?"

He turned around, glanced at the generals in the tent, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.

"This means that we are announcing to the whole world that our Great Qian army has no young and capable men, and that we have to rely on an old man to win battles? What face does His Majesty have? What dignity does the court have left?"

The tent was deathly silent.

Xu Shigui walked back to the main seat, sat down again, and his tone became serious:

"Therefore, his merits and demerits cancel each other out, and I will not pursue the matter of his skill in riding the Akhal-Teke horse."

The phrase "merits and demerits offset each other" strikes like a dull thud into everyone's heart.

One man saved the entire supply depot, repelled tens of thousands of Northern Di troops, and killed two enemy generals.

In the end, however, it turned out that merits and demerits canceled each other out?

Zhou Huchen could no longer hold back.

He took a step forward, cupped his hands, and said, "General, if we act in this way, I'm afraid it will be difficult to win the hearts of the troops."

Xu Shigui, however, did not take it seriously and coldly replied, "In the military camp, everyone must obey orders. Anyone who disobeys will be dealt with according to military law."

The tent fell silent once more.

No one spoke anymore.

But everyone was cursing under their breath.

"Also, bring that Akhal-Teke horse back and take good care of it. Two days later, select a thousand elite soldiers to accompany this general to escort it to the capital and present it to His Majesty."

He waved his hand!

"Alright, all of you may leave."

Qin Hao took a deep breath and swallowed the anger that was rising in his throat.

He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, his voice low and deep: "This humble general... obeys."

He turned and strode out of the tent...

Qin Hao had only taken a few steps when he ran into two people.

Two young men in civilian clothes rode tall horses and entered from outside the camp gate, chatting and laughing.

One was fair-skinned and clean-cut, the other had a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, with a cunning look in their eyes.

"Oh, General Qin!" The fair-skinned one dismounted, grinning and cupping his hands in greeting. "I heard you repelled the Northern Di army? I never expected you to be so capable while we were away. Congratulations! Congratulations!"

Another man with a pointed face and monkey-like features also dismounted and added sarcastically, "General Qin, you've worked hard. My father will definitely put in a good word for you with His Majesty later."

These two men were Xu Shigui's two sons, Xu Zhaowen and Xu Zhaowu.

One was incompetent in literature, and the other incompetent in martial arts. They relied on their fathers' power to bully and oppress in the military camp, and did nothing of substance.

I don't know where he went off to have some fun a few days ago, but now I guess he heard that he was going to escort the Akhal-Teke horses to the capital to claim credit, so he came running back here.

Qin Hao ignored him and turned to leave.

Behind him, Zhou Huchen, several captains, and others filed out and followed Qin Hao toward the distant camp.

……

"General Qin, that Xu Shigui has gone too far!"

Zhou Huchen ripped off his helmet, hugged it to his chest, and was still furious.

"Yes! If it weren't for Grandpa Su, we would have suffered a crushing defeat long ago!"

"Such a miraculous feat, yet it's all canceled out because of a horse?"

"What kind of situation is this?"

Captain Zhang Heng, with an expression of complete disregard, shouted at the top of his lungs.

"If word of this approach gets back to the army, it will surely demoralize the brothers! Who will be willing to fight to the death in the future?"

Another captain shook his head and sighed.

"I really feel sorry for Grandpa Su..."

"At such an old age, he risked his life to kill the enemy, and this is the result he got in return."

Zhou Huchen grew angrier as he spoke, paused, and turned around.

"What's even more outrageous is that, after such a fierce battle, with the Northern Di still eyeing the city covetously, he's not thinking about how to defend the city; all he can think about is sending the Ferghana horses to the capital to claim credit!"

"You all saw the faces of those two, didn't you? Why didn't they come back to camp earlier or later? Of all times, they had to come back at this crucial moment. I reckon that old bastard Xu Shigui just wants to bring his two sons with him to the capital to make a good impression on His Majesty!"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, and his voice grew louder and louder.

"How hateful! Utterly hateful!"

Qin Hao stopped, turned around, looked at the group of indignant soldiers, and remained silent for a moment.

"Alright."

"We'll discuss this matter later."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"Our most urgent task is to go to Huotouying and visit Grandpa Su."

"You guys want to come together?"

Zhou Huchen was the first to step forward, patting his chest: "Of course! Old Master Su saved my life last night, I must thank him properly in person!"

"We want to go too!" the captains exclaimed in unison.

Qin Hao turned around, walked out of the tent, and headed towards the fire station.

Behind him, the soldiers quickly followed.