Before Zhang Chu arrived in Zhongyang, Guo Xiyuan's investigation bureau came with intelligence. Hong Chengchou has taken over as the governor of the three sides, leading the troops and horses of all walks of life to exterminate the peasant uprising. Wang Chengen, the general soldier of Shaanxi and Yang Jiamo, the general soldier of Gansu, were transferred to Shaanxi, and Cao Wenzhao, who had just defeated Wang Jiayin, also returned to Shaanxi from Shanxi.

Hong Chengchou gathered the officers and troops from all over the country together, and this was to prepare for a big operation. There are indications that Hong Chengchou is targeting the extended area occupied by the security forces.

Hong Chengchou invested a lot of money this time, Wang Chengen and Yang Jiamo brought back 80,000 soldiers and horses of Qinwang, plus Cao Wenzhao's 3,000 cavalry and Hong Chengchou's own soldiers and horses, there were more than 100,000 officers and soldiers, putting on a situation of crushing everything.

However, Zhang Chu's security forces totaled only more than 40,000, and they were scattered in a large area from Yanchang to Guihua City and Shanxi. There were only more than 10,000 security troops stationed in Yanchang County, only 5,000 people in the nearest Yulin area, and the cavalry brigade was still far away in Fugu and Guihua City.

The situation is grim, and every step is a matter of life and death for the security forces, which have not faced so many enemies since their inception.

Zhang Chu will find Zhu Shiji, Li Yi and Guo Xiyuan in Zhongyang to urgently discuss countermeasures.

After listening to the situation introduced by Zhang Chu, Zhu Shiji, Li Yi, and Guo Xiyuan were silent, and the three of them fell into thought. Zhang Chu didn't urge, and waited quietly for them to speak.

"What if the extended personnel are evacuated across the Yellow River, with the Yellow River natural insurance, they can withstand it for a while." Zhu Shiji opened his mouth first, he thought that the disparity between the strength of the enemy and us was huge, and it was difficult to defeat the enemy in Changchang, so he had the idea of retreating.

"But this withdrawal of our construction in the past few years has been completely ruined, the officials and soldiers are worse than the thieves, and the people who have extended it will suffer. Our troops can't let the people lose in vain, or I'll lead the team to beat him and try it at once. Although Li Yi understood the balance of power between the two sides, he was unwilling to retreat like this.

"Now that the enemy's army is concentrated in Yan'an Mansion, according to the intelligence analysis sent back, the enemy's greatest possibility is to attack and prolong, the number of enemies is several times that of ours, and this battle is very difficult to fight." Guo Xiyuan said what he knew.

"We can't go head-to-head with the enemy, and we won't give the enemy a long time to do so. Not only do we have to hold on, but we are also destroying the invading enemy. Zhu Xiucai: You immediately carried out general mobilization in the civil affairs system and transferred to a wartime state. Concentrate materials to support the war in Shaanxi, the factory is fully open to produce weapons and ammunition, the militia is assembled as a local guard force, and I will take most of the troops in Zhongyang and fight the enemy in Yanchang. You immediately arrange for personnel to inform the surrounding towns and villages close to the enemy to clear the fields and evacuate the people, which will become the main battlefield and minimize the losses of the people. Seeing that the reaction of the three of them was similar to his expectations, Zhang Chu no longer discussed the issue of war or not, but directly arranged the war. Li Yi, you and I will cross the river to Yanchang County and lead troops to fight against the invading enemy. Xiyuan, your statistics bureau and the detective department of the army must cooperate with each other to grasp the movements of the officers and soldiers, the number of officers and soldiers is large, it is impossible to always gather together, we must grasp the number of officers and soldiers in each unit and the situation of the generals who lead the team, and then eat them one by one, and the numerical advantage of the officers and soldiers will not be able to give full play. Much of the success or failure of a campaign depends on the accuracy of your intelligence. “

The three of them nodded their heads to indicate that they understood the work they had to do.

Zhang Chu finally said with emotion: "After more than two years of hard work, we have built this starving extension into its current appearance, and there are finally no people who die of hunger in the area under our jurisdiction. The factories have produced much-needed weapons and daily necessities, the water conservancy has been built to ensure a good harvest in this year of disaster, and the people are working hard to produce enough to be fed. Since the establishment of our security forces, we have been fighting a good battle, and we have not faced such a dangerous situation, and the time has come to test the will and quality of our soldiers. We will be able to hold on, and the final victory will be ours. “

At the end of the meeting, the three of them left to prepare, and Zhang Chu gathered his officers again and arranged for them to mobilize among the soldiers to boost the fighting spirit of the soldiers.

In addition to following his own cavalry, Zhang Chu also had to send 10,000 horses from the local area to follow him on the expedition, and 10,000 people left their hometown to cross the river to participate in the war, and ideological unity was very important.

At the same time, Hong Chengchou was also actively preparing for the offensive on the part of the official army. The food and weapons of the hundreds of thousands of troops were enough for him to be busy for a while. also had to assign tasks to various military horses and balance the relationship between them, and Hong Chengchou started the full-load work mode.

Cao Wenzhao was born in the army, as a martial artist, he has a natural awe of the civil officials who are studying, since he was transferred to Shanxi to fight, he cooperated with Hong Chengchou very well, this is very good, Hong Chengchou pointed to Cao Wenzhao there and rushed there, and there was no complaint.

Hong Chengchou ordered him to return to Shaanxi from Shanxi, and he rushed to Yan'an Mansion with his people in a hurry. Hong Chengchou wanted to attack Yanchang County, and he took advantage of the strong mobility of the cavalry to bring the team to Yanchang County outside the county before others and stationed it.

Cao Wenzhao fought aggressively but not recklessly, and he maintained enough caution and caution against the security forces he had not fought against. In order to find out the situation, Cao Wenzhao ordered a captain of the Guanning Iron Cavalry to take fifty cavalry to go deep into Yanchang territory to spy on the situation.

Cavalry captain Ding Meng, a person who looks five big and three thick, looks like he is extremely brave, he has been fighting in the border army for many years and finally survived, not only relying on his own bravery, his mind is very flexible, and he has rich combat experience, but he has no background, and he has only been an officer for so many years. However, when it comes to real combat, the commander still needs someone as capable as him. So Hong Chengchou was the first to send him out.

Ding Meng led the people cautiously and little by little to the vicinity of the village occupied by the security forces.

They were transferred from outside the customs to Shaanxi and Shanxi to suppress thieves, and they did not know anything about the situation of the security forces, except that the occupation of the security forces had been extended for more than two years, and the Shaanxi officers and troops had nothing to do. It seems that the security army still has some strength.

Cao Wenzhao's 3,000 officers and troops had just defeated tens of thousands of thieves, and a sense of pride naturally arose in the ranks, and they didn't take the thieves seriously. Ding Meng didn't think so, and repeatedly told his subordinates to be careful.

It is now May of the fourth year of Chongzhen, the crops in the fields are green, growing well, most of the officers and soldiers are also engaged in agricultural production, and they also like it when they see such good crops.

Ding Meng and the others walked through the road in the field, but they did not find a single peasant who had gone down to the field. Could it be that they have already discovered us, Ding Meng even mentioned twelve points of caution.

(To be continued.) )