After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

"Ning Jiexiao..."

He parted his lips slightly and murmured the name again.

There are many strange and puzzling things, and some of them are hard to tell from the truth. However, no matter what, the uprising of the Heavenly Principle Sect in the north has still tied down a portion of the Northern Dynasty's military forces for them.

For example, the bandits in Shandong.

For example, the tens of thousands of people led by Ortai.

Ning Jiexiao also attacked the grain supply route in Shanxi, seizing a batch of military supplies and more than a thousand horses from the Northern Dynasty.

In the past, Shangguan Yun might have thought it was being sent to the Great Wall area or to Beijing.

Looking at it now...

Shangguan Yun gave a cold smile.

Not to mention the food supply.

However, most of the military supplies and horses were transported to the south to supply the Eight Banners cavalry.

He pressed down on the intelligence papers and raised his hand slightly.

Upon seeing the young master's actions, the hall immediately fell silent.

Even the Imperial Guards, including Liu Xinghan and Shang Jiuyang, became quiet.

After all, the young master in front of them was their superior before, the previous commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

In order to ensure the smooth ascension of the throne, the Emperor Emeritus appointed the Crown Prince, whom he trusted greatly, to take charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and monitor the realm on behalf of the Emperor.

Only after the dust settled was this young master reassigned as the Governor-General of Jiangbei, just like his grandfathers, to guard Jiangbei.

This great-grandson of the Imperial Son-in-Law Shangguan was dressed in a scarlet official robe and wore a black gauze hat; his eyes were like lightning.

He scanned the faces in the lobby, and everyone immediately became a little nervous.

"Gentlemen,"

Shangguan Yun's voice was deep and resonant, like a lion deliberately suppressing its growl.

"The situation is now clear; our night scouts have gone to scout out the direction of their main force."

He slightly raised his chin.

"Will the Northern Dynasty attack our Jiangpu City first? Or Liuhe City first? Or will they attack both cities simultaneously? We should be able to tell in a few days from the direction of their army and supplies."

Jiang Lu said, "Our two cities are backed by the great river, and we have warships and sailors. We have no reason to worry about them besieging us."

He frowned: "But Jiangpu and Liuhe are like two wings supporting each other. Once Liuhe City falls..."

Shangguan Yun said:

"Although Liuhe City is not as good as Jiangpu City, it is still a fortified city. It will not be easy for the Northern Dynasty to break through it."

"Moreover, Nanjing is right behind us. Even if Liuhe is in trouble, the Yongwei Battalion and the Five Armies Battalion of Nanjing will not stand idly by. You only need to guard Jiangpu City."

Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

If the Northern Dynasty were to concentrate its forces to attack Liuhe City first, and Liuhe were to request reinforcements, even if the Jiangpu Army wanted to come to the rescue, they would only be able to travel across the Yangtze River by warship. After all, once they went out of the city to fight in the open field, the infantry would find it difficult to fight if their cavalry was inferior to the enemy's.

The fact that the 50,000 most elite troops of the Eight Banners had marched south made them even more uneasy.

Marquis Shangguan Xie, the Protector of the Nation, is in Liuhe City.

If Liuhe is besieged, the governor, anxious to save his father, will send the Jiangpu army overland to reinforce Liuhe, thus falling into the trap set by the Northern Dynasty.

Jiang Luzhi and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Dong Anguo exchanged a glance. Governor Shangguan had reassured them, and the two felt much more at ease.

Having started, Shangguan Yun then asked everyone to discuss a plan to defeat the enemy.

Jiang Luzhi said, "While the elite Eight Banners troops have not yet arrived and the three major camps of the Northern Dynasty are waiting for strong troops, we should boldly leave the city. I will lead the elite troops to fight the Pingnan Camp first and break their morale."

"No!"

Shangguan Yun's advisor, Zhuge Yong, stood up and said solemnly:

"General Jiang, you must not underestimate the Pingnan Camp at this moment. Strong reinforcements are on their way, and the Pingnan Camp is currently at the height of its morale. The Pingnan Camp has morale, and so does our dynasty. Now that a large army is pressing in, if we do not have a sure chance of victory, losing the first battle will actually damage the morale of our dynasty."

Because his surname was Zhuge, everyone treated him with deference.

At the same time, the other party was one of the young master's advisors and also had the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations), so even General Jiang Luzhi respected him quite a bit.

Jiang Luzhi stood up, smiled calmly, and said:

"Rest assured, Lord Zhuge, my Jiangpu Army is no longer what it used to be... The New Weapons Bureau and the Academy of Sciences have already deployed the Dieyue..."

Zhuge Yong shook his head and said:

"I know that General Jiang recently received a batch of military equipment from the so-called New Weapons Bureau. I heard that it includes three thousand powerful bows, two thousand swords, and the Ministry of Works' Ordnance Bureau also delivered five thousand new flintlock muskets. But—"

He then changed the subject and offered this advice:

"The Jiangpu Army and the Pingnan Camp have only managed to achieve victories and defeats against each other over the years. Even with more weaponry, it's difficult to reverse the fact that our cavalry is inferior to the Eight Banners. Moreover, the other side also possesses so-called flintlock muskets..."

"Sun Tzu's Art of War states, 'Examine the situation using five factors to ascertain its true nature. The five factors are: the Way, Heaven, Earth, the General, and the Law. Among these, weaponry is not necessarily absent...'"

Zhuge Yong, well-versed in military strategy, stroked his beard and spoke eloquently:

"As the saying goes, favorable timing is not as important as advantageous location, and advantageous location is not as important as harmonious relationships. If General Jiang loses this first battle, our morale and support will be inferior to others..."

Jiang Luzhi was completely bewildered, but he felt that what the other person said did make some sense, so he frowned and said:

"What insightful opinion does Brother Zhuge have?"

Shangguan Yun also turned his gaze over.

Zhuge Yong's expression froze for a moment before he slowly said:

"In my opinion," he said, bowing to Shangguan Yun at the head of the table, "we should hold firm to our fortified city and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out."

Deputy Commander-in-Chief Dong Anguo shook his head and said:

"The Northern Dynasty has mobilized its entire army of 200,000, an unprecedented event in twenty years. The Northern Emperor must have a complete plan. If we sit idly by and defend our city, without taking advantage of the enemy's reinforcements to defeat one of their troops first, and if the enemy's firearms are fierce, our defense of the city will be extremely difficult in the future."

One of the aides countered:

"If we go out into the open to fight and are defeated, what should we do? How can we be sure this isn't a plan by the Pingnan Camp?"

Another person said:

"The withdrawal of Pingnan Camp north of the city and the re-establishment of camp thirty miles behind Chuzhou City is probably not to free up Chuzhou City for us, but rather to prevent us from launching a large-scale attack on the camp before the arrival of the Eight Banners elite troops..."

One guerrilla general suggested, "Why not send a cavalry force to raid the supply lines ahead of time?"

Another guerrilla general who commanded the cavalry shook his head:

"We've been attacked many times over the years, and the Northern Dynasty was well prepared. Small cavalry squads are no match for us, but large cavalry units... the Pingnan Camp's scouts are watching our city day and night... their movements are hard to conceal..."

"I agree with Brother Zhuge, we should hold our fortified city. With such a large army from the Northern Dynasty marching south, their supplies will surely run out in the long run... We only need to hold out for a while, wait for them to retreat, and then launch a surprise attack..."

Everyone started discussing the war, each offering their own opinion.

Shangguan Yun frowned, finding it truly difficult to make the difficult decision to order Jiang Pucheng to go out of the city and engage in open battle first...

Jiang Pujun received a secret order from Her Majesty the Empress, finally bringing the discussion to an end.

His Majesty has decreed that neither the Jiangpu Army nor the Liuhe Army are permitted to leave the city; they are only allowed to hold their positions within the fortified city…

…………

Inside the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Cuiwei sat upright on the dragon throne, with the chief eunuch standing to her left and the head palace maid Chunyu standing to her right.

Her Majesty the Empress held a memorial in her pale hand, her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and asked Fan Shiwei, the commander of the Brave Guard, who sat below her:

"Have you found any trace of Rakshasa?"

Once the Rakshasa and Northern Dynasties sail upstream into the Yangtze River and attack Zhenjiang, Nanjing might not be able to send its elite guards to rescue the two cities north of the river...