Hong Chengchou made his way out among Shaanxi officials with his ruthlessness. Originally, he was a civil official, but he became the main force in the crusade against thieves.

He had already discovered that the Yanchang and other places where Zhang Chu was located were very abnormal and completely out of the jurisdiction of the government. The officials in Shaanxi only know how to protect themselves, and if the thieves do not hit their own territory, no one will take the initiative to cause trouble.

Hong Chengchou also wrote to Yang He, the governor of the three sides, hoping that he would order the mobilization of forces from all sides to attack the security army. Yang He refused on the grounds that the security army had accepted the appeasement and had not harmed the people. Seeing that Zhang Chu's strength was getting stronger and stronger, Hong Chengchou knew that he couldn't wait any longer, raising tigers would become trouble, and it would be difficult to eliminate Zhang Chu later.

Hong Chengchou did not wait for Yang He's order and cooperation, mobilized all the forces under his command, and gathered 20,000 horses to exterminate the security army.

The spies have found out that the security army is building cities in various places, and it looks like they want to hold on. Hong Chengchou made special preparations for response. More than a dozen redcoat cannons and a large number of gunpowder and shells were drawn from various states and counties. No matter how strong the walls were, they couldn't withstand the continuous bombardment of the red-coated cannons.

Hong Chengchou carefully analyzed the situation in the area occupied by the security forces in front of the map, and when attacking the security forces, he had to find the weak links of the security forces.

After some thought, Hong Chengchou chose the breakthrough point at the ferry port of Shenmu.

The morale of the team was very important in the battle, and there was no city for defense at Shenmu Ferry, and the security army built a new small city here, which was built for a short time and the city was not large, so it should not be strong. According to Tanma, only about 500 security guards were stationed in the town. It's just the right time to take them and boost morale with victory.

Shenmu Ferry Port is an important passage to Shanxi. It will be difficult for the thieves who occupy the northern part of Shenmu Shaanxi to escape to Shanxi. Rogue Thieves can't move, and their power is greatly reduced.

Hong Chengchou is full of confidence in this battle. It is said that the security forces also have more than 30,000 horses, which can be scattered to defend in various places, and can be easily broken by each one.

In the past few years, Hong Chengchou has fought against the thieves and understands that the number of thieves has nothing to do with combat effectiveness, and often a few hundred thieves can coerce thousands of hungry people. Bringing 20,000 horses to conquer the security army can be described as killing chickens with a knife, and Zhang Chu's security army must be wiped out.

Zhang Chu, who was in Fugu, kept receiving news of changes in the official army. It is clear that this time it is against the security forces. It seems that the days of eating mutton in Fugu are coming to an end, and I have to prepare to fight with the official army.

The security forces mobilized their entire ranks, intensified their investigation of official and military news, and prepared to retreat to the fortified city with personnel and supplies.

The ammunition, food, and grass of the defenders in the city were replenished again, and they were waiting for the arrival of the officers and soldiers.

The sense of secrecy of the officers and soldiers was indeed very poor, and when Hong Chengchou's men and horses set out on the expedition, the momentum was huge, and as soon as they drove to the Shenmu Ferry, the security army grasped their movements. The personnel around the Shenmu retreated into the fortress that had been built. The boat left the dock and went to another place and hid.

When Hong Chengchou arrived at the Shenmu Ferry, he saw that all around was bare, and there were no figures or materials to use. A small, strangely shaped city towers over it. Hong Chengchou couldn't help but admire this defender general a little. Hundreds of people were stationed in a small city, and tens of thousands of officers and soldiers came to attack without surrendering or fleeing.

Since you didn't run, Hong Chengchou is not welcome now. If you don't surrender, the defenders will be left with nothing but death. Hong Chengchou ordered the siege of the city, and tens of thousands of troops surrounded the small fortress at once, and the fortress looked even smaller.

On the tower in the center of the fortress, the top leader of the defenders, Battalion Commander Yang Peng of the Security Army, was observing the movements of the officers and troops.

He was not at all worried about the siege of tens of thousands of officers and soldiers, he knew very well how powerful the fortress was in defense, and after many drills with the soldiers, he was very skilled in cooperating with each other. After learning the news of the attack of the officers and troops, the fort was newly replenished with ammunition and food, and the long-term siege of the officers and troops was not terrible. Fugu and the cavalry led by the marshal can come to the rescue at any time. Yang Peng was interested in Hong Chengchou, the leader of the official army who brought the troops this time.

Hong Chengchou was born as a civil official, and his ruthlessness is more than that of many military generals. But he still couldn't overcome the inherent weaknesses of literati, and he was good at face.

When he travels, he always takes his full guard of honor with him. This time, as the commander of the whole army, he was even more pompous, with the handsome flag fluttering behind him, and the generals under him hugging him from afar, and he could be found from afar.

Yang Peng found out where Hong Chengchou was, calculated the distance, and said secretly: "You'd better get closer, I'll kill you with one shot and save trouble." ”

Hong Chengchou must have been in battle for a long time, and he still has a sense of safety, so he stopped and pointed at the city wall after getting a little closer to the city wall.

Hong Chengchou despises thieves in his heart, thieves are thieves, and the whole one is uneducated. Build a small city in such a strange shape. Just a few sharp corners sticking out outward are a lot of earth and stones, and it is better to build the city wall so thick than to increase the height of the city wall. In particular, it was right to build that tower so high, but why not build it on the city wall, but in the center of the city, it became an ornament that could only be used to look at the scenery.

Yang Peng saw that Hong Chengchou stopped walking forward, and scolded: "Dog officer, count yourself smart." He turned to the staff officer and said, "Order the artillery battalion, aiming at the position of the dog officer, and use the artillery with the maximum range to make a few shots." The staff officer quickly conveyed the order.

Hong Chengchou, who was outside the city, looked around after observing the terrain, and was wondering whether to send people to persuade him to surrender according to the routine. Only a few cannon shots were heard, and a few cannonballs flew out from the small town, fluttering towards his location.

The generals surrounding Hong Chengchou didn't care about losing their honor in front of the commander, turned their horses' heads and fled backwards, and for a while the flag fell over, and the entire honor guard was in chaos. Fortunately, there were dutiful soldiers who pulled Hong Chengchou's frightened war horse, otherwise he would have been thrown off the horse, and this eye would have been bigger.

The potential of the cannonball fell to the ground and did not hit Hong Chengchou's team. But this chaos also made Hong Chengchou feel very faceless.

Gathering the ranks, the angry Hong Chengchou immediately ordered the artillery of the official army to come forward and bombard the city wall.

The officers and soldiers moved towards the city wall with their heavy red-coated cannons, preparing to close the distance and establish artillery positions. It's been a very difficult journey. The defenders discovered their intentions and concentrated their long-range artillery to intercept them.

The shells that kept falling around made the soldiers pulling the artillery carts frightened one by one, seriously affecting the speed of the advance, and as the distance shortened, the landing point of the shells became closer and closer to the crowd. Finally, a cannonball landed in the crowd. A bloody ditch was plowed in the ranks, which frightened the officers and soldiers into throwing down the artillery wagons and running in all directions. The officer leading the team shouted to stop them before they were driven back again.

After a long day's effort, the officers and soldiers pulled the artillery into the position, loaded and fired against the shells of the security army, and fired one shell after another at the small city, and finally hit the city wall with several efforts.

The defenders of the city took refuge in the caves behind the city walls, leaving only the artillery to fire at the artillery positions of the officers.

Hong Chengchou stood on the newly built high platform in the distance and watched the shelling of both sides. I couldn't help but feel a little anxious in my heart, although the thief army had a lot of small artillery in the city, there were dozens of artillery pieces that could hit as far as the red-coated cannons, and there was also the cover of the battery, and the artillery of the officers and soldiers couldn't help them. The officers and soldiers could only concentrate artillery fire on the city wall, hoping to collapse the city wall, the wall of the small city was thick and strong, and the shells hitting it had no great effect. Trying to bring the walls down is not something that can be done in a moment. However, the thieves' artillery became more and more accurate, and it fell densely on the artillery positions of the officers and soldiers, and one of the guns had already been hit by the shells and fell to the ground. The officers and non-commissioned officers were even more panicked and hurriedly opened fire, and the artillery was inaccurate, and the effect was even worse.

Hong Chengchou saw that this was not a way, the official army had completed some simple ladders, Hong Chengchou ordered the troops to attack the city, such a small city was attacked by tens of thousands of officers and soldiers, and the defenders were overwhelmed at all, and the city was broken in one go.