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

It was May, and the sun was gradually turning into a scorching red plate. Jiang Shikuan's thin face had been tanned dark by the sun these days, and his left eyebrow was broken due to a knife wound.

The soil he was holding in his right palm had become sticky and dirty from a light rain overnight. He shook his hand, threw the mud off, and stood up.

The dozen or so brothers who came with them dismounted one after another. The horses' hooves pounded wildly, and a series of hoofbeats, neighing, and snorting sounds filled the air.

The most elite night scouts of the Jiangpu Army hurried along, some standing up and some squatting down, to inspect the deep, sunken ruts on the official road that had damaged it. Their expressions all became solemn.

"Artillery...it's definitely artillery..."

"These tire tracks are so deep, I wonder how heavy they were?"

"At least a thousand pounds, damn it..."

"Not only that, we also have heavy artillery pieces weighing a thousand pounds, but it's hard to compress the soil like this."

"It could be as heavy as three thousand jin..."

The crowd looked around, observing the tire tracks and discussing amongst themselves.

The Northern Dynasties attached great importance to this official road that led from Huai'an to Chuzhou. The entire road was built with a mixture of lime, clay, and fine sand, making it extremely sturdy and durable.

Even so, the road was damaged to this extent, which gives you an idea of ​​how heavy the cannons transported from the North Dynasty were.

Jiang Shikuan looked north, gazing at the dark, misty city of Huai'an, and slowly exhaled from his lungs.

"Let's go." He walked toward his two horses, one entirely chestnut red and the other entirely black, which were munching on grass covered in dew.

"Sir," a tall man stood up, his eyes serious, and said, "Should we follow them and find out the number of artillery pieces?"

Jiang Shih-kuan raised an eyebrow and shook his head, saying:

"They probably transported it under cover of night. When they were transporting the artillery carts, the scouts were spread out at least several miles away, making it extremely difficult for us to get close. We should return to the city and report first."

He turned around, raised his hand, and pointed to the ruts on the official road.

"These markings are too messy. There are at least thirty cannons, and we can hardly tell the exact number. However, there are at least two or more general cannons."

Transporting heavy cannons weighing over 3,000 jin (approximately 1,500 kg) from the north to the south was extremely difficult, involving a distance of thousands of miles and various terrains.

But this time at least two gates were transported over, which shows that they were determined to break through Jiangpu City and Liuhe City, and even Nanjing City!

Upon hearing the words "General's Cannon," everyone's expressions turned somber.

"Sir," another scout, shorter but extremely agile, stood up, unwilling to give up, and said, "So, are we just going to go back like this now? And wait?"

As Jiang Shih-kuan walked toward the horses, he said:

"We must return to the city immediately and gather the laborers."

The adopted son of the Jiangpu Army General mounted his horse and waved to the crowd from his chestnut steed:

"They've dug up everything, whether it's the main road or any other easy path!"

A fierce look appeared on his face with broken eyebrows. He grabbed the reins and pulled the horse's head south.

"Snapped!"

He snapped his whip, and the horse began to gallop forward. His heart felt heavy, and a tightness began to set in his chest.

Such measures can only stop them temporarily. At most, they can be stopped in a few days. The other side can always fill the road by mobilizing laborers to fill it with soil.

but……

Jiang Shih-kuan sighed inwardly:

"We can only wait and see..."

……

……

Inside the main hall of the government office in Jiangpu City, which was temporarily being used as a military camp.

Jiangbei Governor Shangguan Yun stood in front of a sand table, his posture straight. His face, which was originally full of sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, now looked both haggard and ferocious.

Having not slept for two days, not only was his energy at its limit, but his voice also changed from dignified to hoarse.

His bloodshot eyes were fixed on the sand table in front of him.

This sand table is very large, seven feet long and three feet wide, and it was meticulously made by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The above depicts the scenic landscape of Jiangpu City within a hundred miles. Whether it is the official road, villages, city, forests, mountains, or water sources, everything, big or small, has been made using clay and sand as much as possible.

The entire city of Jiangpu was also meticulously recreated, with its inner and outer walls.

The outer city gates were made of wood, the barbican was recessed, and even the ramparts on the city walls used to house archers and musketeers, as well as arrow emplacements and cannon emplacements, were built.

The inner city even recreated the layout and roads of each neighborhood in great detail, showing exactly where wells were dug, where grain was stored, and where weapons were placed.

However, compared to the size of the sand table, Jiangpu City seems rather small.

Anyone who saw this sand table for the first time, whether it was the generals of Jiangpu City or Shangguan Yunqing's group of advisors, was amazed by it.

Ma Yuan, the General Who Subdued the Waves during the Han Dynasty, once piled rice into valleys and mountains.

The sand table made by the Embroidered Uniform Guard is far more refined than General Fubo's Mishan.

"This thing is called a sand table, son-in-law..."

Liu Xinghan pointed to the sand table.

"That is, when the Grand Prince Consort attacked Black Tiger Mountain last year, he made a sand table of Black Tiger Mountain, which we were amazed by at the time. Later, the Emperor ordered us to make sand tables of the two cities north of the Yangtze River."

Liu Xinghan said with embarrassment:

"We don't have the son-in-law's skills. We did manage to make a few copies, but neither the Emperor Emeritus nor His Majesty were quite satisfied. It wasn't until this copy that we finally got something out of shape."

On the sand table, there is also Chuzhou City, which is only sixty miles away from Jiangpu City.

The city of Chuzhou was naturally not as well-made as the city of Jiangpu. It was just a rough model made of sand and stones and painted with azurite.

Liu Xinghan picked up three wooden platforms that had been whitewashed with lime and placed them about 20 li north of Chuzhou City, 30 li east of Chuzhou City, and about 10 li west of Chuzhou City.

"Pingnan Camp is located north of Chuzhou, Shiqiao Camp is located east of Chuzhou, and the vanguard camp of Huainan Camp is located west of Chuzhou City."

The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was discussing the situation with Shangguan Yun, while Shangguan Yun's advisors stood beside him.

Liu Xinghan then picked up two more flags and planted them more than forty miles northeast of Chuzhou City, which was already at the edge of the sand table.

"Chuzhou is 300 li away from Huai'an. Our scouts have found out that the Northern Dynasty army has indeed arrived in Huai'an. They are all elite Eight Banner troops and are currently heading from Huai'an towards us. They are about 200 li away and will arrive in Chuzhou in three days at most."

One of the advisors, Zhuge Yong, asked, "What about the supply lines?"

Liu Xinghan took out a red rope and spread it out to the northwest of Chuzhou City, reaching the edge of the sand table. He then used clay to stick the red rope onto the sand table and placed a wooden platform marked "Huainan Prefecture" at the other end of the red rope.

Then he took out another red rope and spread it out to the southwest of Chuzhou City, reaching the edge of the sand table. After sticking the red rope in place, he placed the wooden platform of "Hefei Prefecture" on it.

"Our scouts have discovered two grain routes: one from Huainan County in Fengyang Prefecture, and the other from Hefei in Luzhou Prefecture." Liu Xinghan scratched his large beard, analyzing the situation seriously. "Of course, there are also grain routes from Huaian Prefecture and even Yangzhou Prefecture."

Shangguan Yun pointed to the place symbolizing the Yangtze River and instructed: "Order Jiang Luzhi to send a cavalry unit to board ships, ready to disembark at any time near the Wujiang River to attack their supply lines."