Chapter 7: Military Warrant

  After Hu Tian's surprise, he saw his general with a worried face and immediately understood what was troubling him. He made a slight movement in his mind and a look of surprise flashed across his face as he hastily said: "General, you see that the position of military advisor has been vacant for some time now, how about Zhang?"

  "Chief of Staff?" Qin Xiao Tian's eyes lit up as soon as he heard his subordinate say this. Ah, yes! The position of Chief of Staff is a good one! Although it can't compare to being a General, it's still a position that's second only to one person and above everyone else! Given the current situation, only this position would be barely suitable for someone like Zhang Hua Ming who has reached the high-ranking Wu Zong realm.

  "Little brother, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you this time." Qin Xiao Tian's face showed a hint of embarrassment as he rubbed his hands together.

  Zhang Huaming smiled slightly, but in his heart he was surprised, not expecting that the martial arts cultivation of this world would be so popular. With just one arrangement, it was the position of Chief of Staff. He knew how great the power of this staff position was. To put it bluntly, apart from the general, it was the largest in a military unit, and could be said to be the highest position under one person and above all others.

  "The general laughed and said, 'What virtue or ability does the subordinate have? The position of chief of staff is probably not suitable for the subordinate. It's better for the general to find someone else to take on the role.'"

  "Never mind, younger brother, it's settled then. I'll have Hu Tian make the announcement later." Qin Xiao Tian saw that Zhang Hua Ming didn't show any signs of refusal, so he tolerated his opposition and made a decision with a wave of his hand.

  Zhang Huaming did not expect Qin Xiao Tian to be so decisive, seeing this scene, his impression of this person was once again elevated, you know that as a military commander if he is not decisive in killing and cutting down, it may harm all subordinates in the battle.

  "Report! Report!"

  "Ah!" At the sound of the report outside the tent, the expressions of Qin Xiao Tian and his three companions inside the tent changed instantly. The next moment, the four of them relaxed their expressions.

  "Come in."

  As soon as Qin Xiao Tian's voice fell, several figures entered from outside the tent. When Qin Xiao Tian saw the appearance of these four people, a joyful expression appeared on his face. Not only him, but also Zhang Kai Fu and Hu Tian were surprised with joy when they saw these four people.

  "Clang!" Four men in silver-white armor knelt on one knee and said, "Subordinates arrived late to provide reinforcements, please forgive us, General."

  Qin Xiao Tian regained his usual dignified expression and casually waved his hand, saying: "Get up! Wang Hu, you tell me what happened?"

  Qin Xiao Tian knew in his heart that Wang Hu, Wang Bao, Wang Shi and Wang Xiong, the four brothers, would not intentionally delay coming to his rescue. After all, these four men were his personally trained Four Great Generals, he would rather believe that his own family members would harm him than believe that these four men would betray him.

  "This..." King Hu's face showed a hesitant expression, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

  "Big brother, you still haven't spoken up until now. If you don't speak, I will." A man standing beside Wang Hu, with a build like a large bear, spoke directly: "General, it's like this - we received the general's message and assembled three large teams overnight to come here. But that little brat Liu actually made excuses and wouldn't let us leave the pass, keeping us stuck at Fengyun Pass for an entire day. That son of a bitch! If our boss hadn't stopped me, I would have wanted to take care of that son of a bitch directly."

  "Liu Mingsheng?" Qin Xiao Tian furrowed his brow, he hadn't expected the Liu family to be so presumptuous, actually daring to look for excuses to delay military action. It seems that this time when they return, they will have to be thoroughly disciplined.

  When Zhang Huaming heard this sentence, he immediately searched for the Liu General in the mouth of the big bear-like man. Liu Ming Sheng was the second son of the Liu family and also the younger brother of Zhang's wife. He was the commander of the Knights' Legion, one of the four major legions of Xia Kingdom, stationed at Fengyun Pass.

  "Alright, I've got this under control." Qin Xiao Tian saw that his four beloved generals were about to speak up and directly waved his hand to stop them.

  "King Tiger, King Leopard, King Lion, King Bear, let me introduce you to our new chief of staff for the Fierce Tiger Unit, Zhang Huaming, Brother Zhang."

  "Chief of Staff?" The four brothers, Wang Hu, were stunned when they heard their general's introduction. Four pairs of eyes immediately turned to Zhang Hua Ming, and the eyes of the four men were filled with suspicion. Although they knew that every military unit would have a chief of staff, the Ferocious Tiger Unit had not had anyone in this position for over 20 years since its establishment, so why did it suddenly appear today?

  Hu Tian saw the appearance of the four men and was afraid that they would cause Zhang Huaming to leave in a hurry. He cleared his throat and hastily introduced them, saying: "Wang Hu, Wang Bao, Wang Shi, Wang Xiong, you four haven't met Director Zhang yet? This time, our general and the others were able to break through smoothly thanks to Director Zhang's efforts. By the way, let me tell you that Director Zhang is a senior."

  "Senior?" The four Wang Hu brothers heard Hu Tian's words, and their eyes lit up instantly. To think that Hu Tian was a high-ranking martial artist, and the person he called "senior" must have at least reached the Wu Zong realm. Could it be that this weak and frail young man had actually reached the Wu Zong realm? How was that possible? He was only a few years old! Even if he started practicing from birth, it was impossible to reach the Wu Zong realm, right?

  Qin Xiao Tian saw the appearance of Wang Hu and his three companions, and he didn't know what they were thinking. He smiled and scolded: "You four shouldn't be dissatisfied, it's true that Zhang Sanmou is a Wu Zong cultivator, and he's even a high-ranking Wu Zong cultivator, one small rank higher than me."

  If what Hu Tian said earlier was shocking news, then Qin Xiao Tian's words were no less than earth-shattering news. High-ranking Wu Zong! What concept is this? You have to know that as the leader of an army, Qin Xiao Tian's cultivation was only at mid-tier Wu Zong, and while Wang Hu and his brothers could suspect anyone, they would never doubt their general's words.

  "Under Wang Hu, Wang Bao, Wang Shi and Wang Xiong have met with Director Zhang." The four brothers, Wang Hu, stood in a line and gave a subordinate salute to Zhang Hua.

  "Everyone, we are all military men, let's skip the formalities."

  When the four brothers, Wang Hu, heard Zhang Hua Ming's words, they were slightly stunned for a moment. The next moment, the four of them looked at each other and smiled together, because from Zhang Hua Ming's simple sentence, they could tell that their military advisor was also a straightforward person. Dealing with a straightforward person would definitely be very comfortable, especially the two words "brothers" made the four brothers start introducing Zhang Hua Ming.

  "Report! Report!!" A sudden and urgent report sounded outside the tent.

  "Come in." Wang Hu said.

  "Reporting to Your Excellency, enemy scouts have appeared ten miles behind our lines."

  "How many men and horses does the enemy have?" Qin Xiao Tian asked with a puzzled face.

  "Reporting back to the general, the enemy has too many troops. Our scouts dare not venture deep to investigate, but based on the situation of the returning scouts, there are at least more than one route of a large army."

  "A mighty army on the move? Let's investigate immediately." Qin Xiao Tian's expression changed slightly.

  "Yes, General."

  "Come, transmit the order to break camp and retreat." Qin Xiao Tian sank into thought for a moment before making his decision. He had great confidence in the combat strength of his Hu Tiger Troop, but he was not arrogant enough to use three thousand men and horses to counter at least one route of pursuing troops.

  "Third brother, fourth brother, you two escort the generals back to Longhua City first. I'll take second brother and bring two troops to cut off their rear." King Hu gave orders to his brothers.

  "No, big brother, I want to stay and fight with you." Wang Xiong exclaimed excitedly, looking like a good fighter himself.

  "Stop arguing, this is an order." Wang Hu's face was stern as he barked.

  Wang Xiong seemed to want to say something, but was pulled by his third brother beside him, and the words that had reached his lips were forcibly swallowed back, standing aside with a huff.

  Zhang Huaming saw this scene, his mind slightly sank in thought, and a smile appeared on his face as he said to Qin Xiao Tian: "General, I am willing to lead two troops to stay behind and cut off the enemy's retreat."

  Qin Xiao Tian heard Zhang Hua Ming's words and was slightly taken aback, the next moment he immediately refused: "No way, little brother, you've already been seriously injured while escorting us to break through this time, you must retreat and rest for a while."

  "General, do you think I look like I've been injured?" Zhang Huaming smiled and asked back.

  "Huh?" Qin Xiao Tian heard this sentence, his eyes suddenly flashed a sharp light, looked up and down Zhang Hua Ming, finally revealing a surprised expression: "Younger brother, your injuries have healed? How is this possible? It's too unbelievable, too unbelievable."

  "En." Zhang Huaming smiled and nodded, unaware of the great shock his nod had caused in Qin Xiao Tian and others. To reach the Wu Zong realm, if one were to suffer a serious injury, it would be impossible to recover without at least one or two months of recuperation, unless...

  After Qin Xiao Tian's shock, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face. A moment later, he raised his head and said to Wang Hu and Wang Bao: "Wang Hu, Wang Bao, you two assist Zhang Canmou in the rear, and when necessary, abandon everything. You two must ensure Zhang Canmou's safety back to Longhua City."

  "Yes, General." Wang Hu and Wang Bao said in unison.

  "No, Qin Ge, this time I'll personally lead the team. Wang Hu and Wang Bao, the two brothers will follow you all the way back."

  "What's wrong?" Qin Xiao Tian heard Zhang Hua Ming suddenly come out with such a sentence, and he was stunned for a moment. A puzzled expression appeared on his face as he looked at the other person, seemingly waiting for something.

  "General," Zhang Huaming said with a faint smile, "if I'm not mistaken, this position seems to be able to command a small squad of Imperial Guards. Is that correct?"

  "Yes."

  "That's right." Zhang Huaming clapped his hands and said, "General, I think we should select a small team from the troops that came this time to serve as the Imperial Guard, what do you think?"

  "What do you mean?" Qin Xiao Tian's face showed a shocked expression, he had already guessed Zhang Hua Ming's intention, it was too crazy, actually wanting to practice military training? Didn't he know that the rear was being pursued by at least one large army of enemies?! One thousand versus ten million??? Wasn't this the behavior of a madman?

  Zhang Huaming saw Qin Xiao Tian's expression and knew that the other party had already understood his idea, so he didn't deny it and nodded slightly.

  "No way, it's too dangerous." Qin Xiao Tian immediately refused, what a joke, with one thousand men coming to cut off the rear, isn't this the same as sending them to their deaths?

  "Please, General Qin, fulfill it." Zhang Huaming's address this time directly brought out the word "Qin", he even occupied someone else's body, but his personality in the previous life never changed. As long as he wanted to do something, even if the king of heaven came, he would still do it. So when he was the captain of the Wolf Fang team, high-level personnel would always give way three steps when they saw him, no choice, who made him too overbearing.

  Qin Xiaotian's heart skipped a beat when he heard Zhang Huaming's address, because he had already sensed that the young staff officer in front of him had some reservations about himself. After a moment of contemplation, he let out a long sigh and patiently advised: "Staff Officer Zhang, if you insist on staying behind to cover our retreat, I can assign a battalion for you to command. Wouldn't that be safer for your withdrawal? Besides, with Wang Hu and Wang Bao by your side, you'll have someone to rely on!"

  "General," Zhang Huaming ventured to ask, "what did you mean by 'after the break'?"

  "What's the point of breaking off?" Qin Xiao Tian responded directly without even thinking: "Breaking off is to block the pursuit of the enemy, delay time, and let the main force safely withdraw from the danger zone."

  "That's enough, General. Look at the terrain here, it's treacherous. If we want to delay the pursuing troops, a thousand men would be sufficient. But if you leave 10,000 men behind, when it's time to retreat, the losses will be severe. Therefore, I only need a small team of soldiers to deal with the pursuers."

  "So after you delay for some time, how do you plan to leave?" Qin Xiao Tian asked a piercing question that hit the nail on the head. Indeed, this mountain valley entrance was an easy place to defend but difficult to attack, but defending it and then wanting to leave afterwards wasn't an easy matter either.

  "Heh heh, General, I'm asking boldly, how long will it take for us to safely exit the danger zone?"

  Qin Xiao Tian calculated in his mind for a moment before saying: "Three hours."

  "Alright, General, I'll take a stand here and hold off the enemy for at least half a day."

  "Half a day?" When Wang Hu and others heard Zhang Hua Ming's words, each of them changed their expressions slightly. The next moment, the four brothers of Wang Hu looked at Zhang Hua Ming with suspicious eyes, while Zhang Kai Fu had an anxious expression looking at his third brother, as if he wanted to speak up, constantly giving his third brother a glance, and Hu Tian looked at Zhang Hua Ming with a surprised expression.

  "Are you certain?" Qin Xiao Tian asked with a serious expression.

  "I agree." Zhang Huaming also responded with a serious face.

  "Alright, I promise you."

  "General, no!" Wang Hu and others exclaimed in unison.

  "Let's not say anything more, my mind is made up." Qin Xiao Tian waved his hand to stop his subordinates from speaking and said seriously to Zhang Hua Ming: "Choose a small team of people outside, I hope you won't disappoint me."

  "Good."

  Wang Hu.

  "Belonging to the lower class."

  "Hurry up and get ready for departure, after Zhang's selection of personnel is complete, the whole army will accelerate its retreat."

  "Yes, General."