As soon as they crossed the river, Winters immediately commanded the troops to go straight to Iris Castle.

He took the main road, sang triumphant songs, marched with all the flags, drums and trumpets in a majestic manner, without any desire to cover up his tracks.

Andre's cavalry also came to meet him. The team was more vigorous and more powerful.

However, the situation is not as optimistic as he showed.

The sword was still hanging above his head, and the thread holding it might break at any moment.

The battlefield is now shrouded in fog. The more you can see, the closer you are to victory.

Winters had all the scout cavalry deployed, and most of Andre's cavalry had also been dispatched.

Because he constantly captured military horses and used them intensively, Winters actually had a cavalry advantage over the garrison troops in the newly reclaimed land.

Except for the three forward cavalrymen exploring the road, the rest of the cavalrymen were closely monitoring the movements of the garrison in Baishan County.

According to Winters' plan, if the enemy troops return for reinforcements, he can gain at least two days of time difference.

First of all, it will take one day for the Baishan County garrison to return to Manyun Valley.

Secondly, they don't have a bridge.

It is easier to destroy a bridge than to build one. Repairing a bridge is more troublesome than building it, and it will take at least another day or two.

This is a risky move because no one can guarantee what the enemy commander will do.

War is the art of gaming. Winters has already made his move, and now it’s his opponent’s turn.

How the opponent responds is the opponent's business and he has no control over it.

But the war situation is extremely dangerous. If we don't take risks, we can't win.

"Turn around and call back for reinforcements?" Winters scribbled on the map board, thinking in his mind: "Or gritted his teeth and attacked Gévaudan?"

There was too little information in hand, and his understanding of the situation in Baishan County was very limited.

Not a word could be said from Major Ronald. The major did not speak at all and refused to have any form of communication with the rebels.

Winters could only obtain information from public sources.

He knew that the garrison officer of Baishan County was a colonel named [Gaisa Adonis], and that was all.

He didn't know anything about the opponent's temperament, fighting style, or seniority.

I heard that Colonel Gesa seems to like money very much and is good at making money.

"Gatha Adonis." Winters recited his opponent's name silently, thinking: "Adonis? It means [handsome] in ancient language. It seems to be a handsome man?"

I was distracted and used too much strength in my hand, causing the graphite strip to snap off.

Winters was used to this. He put away the broken rod and took out a new one.

Drawing with graphite strips is far more convenient than quill pens for shorthand, but there is one disadvantage - graphite is too brittle and will break if you are not careful.

Winters straightened his back, took note of the surrounding terrain, and continued to draw on the map board.

The saddle was bumpy and the lines in his pen were crooked.

The conditions on the march were limited, and detailed plans had to be redrawn at night.

After capturing Gevaudan, Montagne draftsmen no longer had to worry about graphite.

He swept away all the graphite on Gévaudin's shelves, and he could paint whatever he wanted.

So now, wherever he goes, Winters records the surrounding terrain as much as possible.

Lieutenant Colonel Jessica's atlas has not been updated for a long time, and he is trying to fill in the twelve-year gap of John Jessica.

Out of breath, Charles ran back to report: "Brother! Ahead is Antler Town!"

Winters sighed and put away the map board: "Is there any news later?"

"Uh." Charles scratched his head: "Not yet."

"Okay."

"What about Antler Town?" Ciel asked excitedly, "Want to fight?"

"Nonsense." Winters smiled and took out his cane and hit Ciel on the head: "You are here, how can you not eat meat when you see it?"

…

The newly reclaimed land province is an underdeveloped area as a whole, and Tiefeng County is an underdeveloped area within an underdeveloped area, which is a comparative form of underdeveloped.

Both belong to the border provinces, Baishan County is much wealthier than Tiefeng County, and it is a small family in better condition among a large poor family.

The most obvious place is the road.

Entering Baishan County, Winters immediately felt that the "road" was much easier.

Tiefeng County mainly has rammed earth roads. In some places, there are no rammed earth roads at all. There are only roads where there are too many people walking.

However, Baeksan County actually has a solid road with hard pavement, which is obviously the work of the army.

Unexpectedly, the enemy commander—Colonel Gesar, whom he had never met before—was actually a good garrison officer who was diligent and caring for the people, which made Winters quite ashamed.

After all, the Montagne garrison officer (who was self-imposed) had not really done anything practical for the people of Tiefeng County.

Winters secretly argued in his mind: when he could breathe a sigh of relief, he would also pave hard roads in Tiefeng County.

Although he has deep respect for the "handsome" colonel, it does not prevent Winters from conquering the villages and towns under the rule of the handsome colonel.

Even though you've come here, you can't go in vain. Tiefeng County's finances are currently a bit tight, so it's always good to be able to subsidize some household expenses.

So Winters blew open the gate of Antler Town without any psychological burden.

This is also the second point that makes Baishan County different from Tiefeng County:

Compared with the "bachelor" towns under Winters, the towns in Baishan County not only have a larger population, but also many towns have built walls.

Andre's cavalry could not attack the walled town.

After joining forces with Winters, not to mention the walled town, even the Iris Castle can be knocked down by the two of them.

Winters has twenty "city-breaking bells" on hand, specially brought to smash turtle shells.

Lujiao Town built a wooden wall to guard against bandits and rogues, never thinking that one day it would face an army.

The alarm bell had just sounded, and the militiamen were still running and gathering, when the city gate was blown open with a "bang".

A group of cavalry roared into Lujiao Town, and the townspeople were frightened and fled in all directions.

The militiamen in Lujiao Town rummaged through boxes and cabinets and finally found weapons.

When they walked out of the house, they found that everyone in the town had already fled and there were strange soldiers everywhere.

So without saying a word, they turned back to the house, moved furniture, and blocked the door.

Lieutenant Andrea Cellini already has considerable experience with the process of "raid, rob, and leave."

The cavalry can be more effective by breaking the will than by slashing with a sword.

Thirty cavalrymen can drive hundreds of civilians to flee; surrounded by a hundred cavalrymen, they can cover up thousands of people.

Andre's cavalry first went to seize the baggage warehouse, and then occupied the town hall and the police station.

By the time Winters arrived in town, the work was done.

It was still the same, the baggage warehouse was empty, not even a mouse.

After Winters and Andre discussed it, they felt that something was not right. The enemy might have been prepared.

"If he wants to bring us down, he is just wishful thinking." Andre sneered: "Can people still starve to death?"

Except for weapons, ammunition and seven days of dry food, the troops who invaded Baishan County brought nothing with them.

The situation of the army in Winters' hands is similar to that of Ronald's army that raided Wolf Town. They also gave up baggage in exchange for speed.

However, Baishan County is far more fertile than Tiefeng County, and it is much easier to recruit food locally.

Winters was also a little strange. He once again sent three cavalry in the direction of Manyun Valley to reconnoiter the enemy's situation.

Charles ran over with a sad face, holding several newspapers.

"I couldn't find any new ones. The latest ones are from last season," Charles said.

Di Bao, also called [Jiwen], is an official bulletin-style announcement issued by the New Reclamation Army to its subordinate units. Normally, it is issued once a quarter, and additional issues will be issued when there are urgent events.

The first time Winters knew that the New Reclamation Corps had this kind of information channel was when he first met Senior Mason.

He was hungry for information, and the newspaper was the best public source of information.

However, I couldn't buy Dibao, so I had to go to the territory of the New Reclamation Corps to grab it.

Winters took the newspaper and read it at a glance: "It doesn't matter, take them all with you. The old newspaper is also useful, take as much as you can."

Charles raised his hand in salute and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute." Winters stopped Ciel and said, "I asked you to find all the businessmen in Antler Town. Why don't you see anyone?"

Charles said with a grimace: "The people in the town are all mixed together, and it's hard to tell who is a businessman."

"Isn't this simple? Go there with a torch, call people together, and ask each shop one by one. Do you understand?"

If they stand up unconsciously, they will burn all their shops and go with torches."

"I understand, I understand."

"Make it clear to them beforehand that just asking a few questions will not harm their lives."

"Yes." Charles nodded vigorously and left.

Winters found a place with good lighting and continued reading the newspaper.

"Aren't they all old?" Andre put his right hand in his arms: "Is it still useful?"

"It works." Winters replied without looking up.

"What's the use?"
To be continued...