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

"General! Something terrible has happened! The Northern Barbarians are attacking!"

The curtain of the central command tent was suddenly flung open, and a soldier stumbled in, kneeling on one knee, his face pale and his voice trembling.

Upon hearing this, Xu Shigui's hand trembled violently.

He looked up, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"What did you say? Northern Barbarians? How could that be...?"

Xu Zhaowen stood up from his chair, utterly terrified: "Father, weren't the Northern Di people keeping their troops stationed in Yuzhou? How come they suddenly..."

Xu Zhaowu panicked even more, grabbing the soldier by the collar, his voice trembling: "Did you see clearly? Is it really the Northern Di army? How many are there? How far are they from here?"

The soldier, struggling to breathe, stammered, "General... General, at least thirty thousand men! Ten thousand of them, the Iron Hoof Army, are the vanguard, less than twenty li from our camp. Our scouts saw it with their own eyes, it's absolutely true!"

Xu Zhaowu released his grip, and the soldier fell to the ground.

He staggered back two steps, plopped back into the chair, and his face was deathly pale.

"Ten thousand cavalry and twenty thousand infantry."

"Our battalion now has less than ten thousand troops; the elite have all been taken away by Zhou Huchen and Zhang Heng... How... how can we stop them?"

Xu Zhaowen's mind was in turmoil. He paced back and forth, veins bulging on his forehead. "Father, Qin Hao is right... the Northern Di have really taken advantage of the situation! We sent all our troops to Qingfeng Village to capture that old geezer, and now Qinghe County is undefended... what... what should we do?"

Xu Shigui sat in the main seat, his face turning pale and then flushed, his eyes filled with fear and resentment.

But suddenly, his expression changed.

Fear turned into anger, and anger turned into a deep-seated hatred.

"I understand! I understand everything!"

He slammed his hand on the table.

"This was a conspiracy between that old bastard Su Mu and the Northern Di!"

"That must be it! He pretended to surrender to Qingfeng Village, forcing me to send reinforcements, all to divert troops away from the mountains, leaving our camp vulnerable so the Northern Barbarians could take advantage of the situation!"

Xu Zhaowu was taken aback, then exclaimed, "Yes! That must be it! That old geezer is a spy for the Northern Di! He was acting the whole time!"

"No wonder he, a centenarian, has such great skills; it's all thanks to the Northern Barbarians!" Xu Zhaowen said through gritted teeth. "Father, we've been tricked!"

Xu Shigui gritted his teeth, trembling with hatred.

"Su Mu, if I, the General, manage to return to the capital alive, I will surely impeach you for treason and collusion with the enemy! I will exterminate your entire clan!"

As hateful as it was, the shouts of battle outside were getting closer and closer.

"Report!"

Another soldier tumbled in, his voice cracking: "General! The Northern Barbarian vanguard is already five li outside the camp gate, and General Qin is organizing his troops to meet them."

Xu Shigui took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He stood up, straightened his armor, and said in a sharp voice, "Let's go! Up to the watchtower! This general wants to see just how powerful the Northern Barbarians really are!"

The father and his two sons, accompanied by their personal guards, hurriedly climbed to the highest observation tower in the camp.

Under the moonlight, dust billowed in the north, obscuring the sky and the moon.

The thunderous sound of hooves grew ever closer, so loud that even the wooden planks beneath their feet trembled slightly.

A dark mass of iron cavalry surged out of the night, like a flood bursting its banks, covering the sky and the earth.

The torchlight stretched out in a continuous line, turning half the sky a dark red.

Ten thousand cavalry and twenty thousand infantrymen stretched as far as the eye could see.

Leading the charge was Yeluqi, a general of the Northern Di tribe, clad in iron armor and wielding a horse-slaying sword.

He rode a black steed, like a black lightning bolt, straight towards the Daqian army formation.

"kill!"

Yeluqi's roar was like thunder, making people's eardrums ache.

Qin Hao led his troops to meet the enemy.

Five thousand soldiers of the Great Qian Dynasty lined up outside the camp gate, with swordsmen and shieldmen in front, spearmen behind, and archers and crossbowmen on both sides.

"Release the arrows!"

Arrows rained down on the Northern Di cavalry.

But those Northern Di people were seasoned warriors; they raised their shields, and most of the arrows were deflected.

Although some were struck by arrows and fell from their horses, they were not enough to stop the black torrent.

Yeluqi took the lead, wielding his saber left and right, and none could stand in his way.

A captain thrust his spear at him, but Yeluqi dodged to the side, then with a backhand slash, cleaved the captain and his spear in two.

Ten thousand iron cavalry followed closely behind, like a black sword, piercing straight into the Daqian army formation.

The blade flashed, and blood and flesh flew everywhere.

The Northern Barbarians' iron hooves were unstoppable.

Warhorses knocked over shields, swords cleaved spears, and hooves crushed skulls.

Although the Daqian soldiers fought desperately, they were outnumbered and their morale was low. Their formation collapsed instantly under the charge of the cavalry.

Some were chopped down, some were trampled to death, and some threw down their weapons and ran away.

Qin Hao, mounted on his horse, brandished his spear and killed several Northern Di cavalrymen, but his voice was quickly drowned out by the tide of defeat.

"Stay calm! Don't run! Stay calm!"

Nobody listened to him.

The routed soldiers surged back to the camp like a tide, and Qin Hao was swept along, forced to retreat as well.

One round.

Just one round.

The defensive line of 5,000 defenders was shattered by 10,000 Northern Di cavalry.

From the observation post, Xu Shigui and his two sons could see everything clearly.

Xu Zhaowu's face was as white as paper, and his legs were trembling: "Father... this... this is too powerful... our soldiers can't stop them at all..."

Xu Zhaowen was so frightened that he couldn't speak. His lips trembled for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out, "Father, run... it will be too late if we don't run now..."

Xu Shigui's hands were trembling, but he still wanted to maintain the last shred of dignity: "What's the panic? Qin Hao is still resisting, maybe..."

Before he could finish speaking, the routed soldiers outside the camp gate surged back like a tide.

Qin Hao's banner was swaying precariously in the crowd, about to fall.

Xu Shigui's heart sank completely.

He whirled around and ordered his personal guards, "Quick! Pack your things! Take the two young masters and leave through the back gate! Now! Immediately!"

"Father, where are we going?" Xu Zhaowu asked.

"Return to the capital!" Xu Shigui gritted his teeth. "This battle has been lost, Qinghe County cannot be held. I, the general, must return to the capital to report to the Emperor. Su Mu's treason and Qin Hao's poor command led to the loss of the northern border. I will not take the blame for this!"

Xu Zhaowu's eyes lit up: "That's right! Let's run first! As long as we're alive, we can always make a comeback!"

The father and his two sons, along with two hundred personal guards, slipped out quietly through the rear gate of the camp under the cover of night.

The horse's hooves were wrapped in cloth, and it dared not light a torch, so it fled in panic towards the capital city in the south.

……

Outside the camp gate, Qin Hao finally rallied the routed soldiers, retreated into the camp, and ordered the gate to be closed.

Archers stormed the stockade walls, raining down arrows that temporarily repelled the first wave of the Northern Di people's attack.

Qin Hao was covered in blood, and it was impossible to tell whether it was from the enemy or his own.

He sat on his horse, panting heavily, his eyes bloodshot like a spider web.

"General! General!" A captain stumbled over, his voice filled with anger and despair. "General Xu... General Xu has run away with his personal guards! He escaped through the rear gate!"

Qin Hao's pupils suddenly contracted, and he froze on the horse as if struck by lightning.

His lips trembled twice, and he finally managed to utter only two words: "What?"

"They've fled! The General has deserted his post, taking two vanguard generals with him towards the capital!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding soldiers turned pale, and some even threw down their weapons.

"The general has already fled... what's the point of fighting anymore..."

"It's over... Qinghe County is finished..."

"We've been abandoned..."

The morale of the troops has completely collapsed.

Qin Hao closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The night air was filled with the smells of blood and smoke, which made his throat dry.

He opened his eyes and looked north, towards Qingfeng Town.

"Old Su..." he murmured to himself, his voice hoarse like a broken bellows, "When will you be back?"

Outside the stockade walls, the war drums of the Northern Di people sounded once again.

Yeluqi's roar was like thunder: "Qinghe County is right in front of us! Follow me and charge in! Gold, silver, and treasures, all the women of the Great Qian Dynasty are yours!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Thirty thousand cavalrymen shouted in unison, their voices shaking the surrounding fields.

Qin Hao gripped his spear tightly, turned around, and looked at the exhausted, fearful, and desperate soldiers around him.

"Soldiers!" His voice was hoarse, but he shouted with all his might, "Xu Shigui has fled, but I haven't! Behind Qinghe County are our elders and fellow villagers, our home! If we can't hold it, we will all die!"

"And Elder Su, with the cooks, is already on his way back!"

The soldiers looked up, a faint glimmer of hope igniting in their eyes.

But outside the village gate, the Northern Di people had already sounded the horn for their second attack.

"Waaaaah..."

Each sound felt like a blow to the heart.

Qin Hao gritted his teeth and raised his spear.

"Hold the line! Wait for Elder Su and the others to return!"